


Wherever the Wind Takes Us

by Zed_Zalias



Series: Checkmate [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: AKA - Random fight scene that makes no thematic sense but I put there anyways, Ace/panrom Hau, Depression, Don't Judge Me, Friends to Lovers, Gay Sun, I am so obsessed with this ship, M/M, Plenty of NSFW implications but no dirty content, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romance, Self-Harm, Sexuality-Ambiguous Gladion, Slow Burn, Social Anxiety, Suicidal Thoughts, Sun is just barely underage, Swearing, Ultra Beasts, but nothing sexual happens so it's cool
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2019-01-10 01:58:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12288804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zed_Zalias/pseuds/Zed_Zalias
Summary: (Reading the rest of the series is not necessary to understand this if you'd like to just read some GladiSun fluff with no strings attached. As long as you know some of the common headcanons, you'll be fine.)After the Ultra Beast Crisis is fully put to rest, Sun loses a great friend in the form of Lillie, who has travelled to Kanto to help her mother recover. At least he knows she'll be back, and at least he still has Hau by his side....And at least the cute Aether President seems to be warming up to him...Finally.





	1. Winds of Change

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HeadOfSpectre](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeadOfSpectre/gifts), [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> Ooh, I don't want to be one of those people who had really long, annoying notes, so I'll try to make this short. 
> 
> This story is very important to me. This was truly, honestly a labor of love. I have shipped this since the games came out, and was faced with the crushing reality that very few people agreed with me on that point. I eventually took matters into my own hands, but I was delayed several times throughout my process of writing this. We are nearing a year since I began this, and honestly, I'm so eager to get it out that I haven't edited it as much as I should have... But I've edited it _enough._ Please go easy on me and please refrain from nitpicking. I was in a writing rut and that's why the first 1/5 was written waaaay before the rest of this, so if you notice a sudden jump in quality that's why. I am aware plenty of scenes in this are awkward or weirdly paced - It's meant to be like Gladion and Sun's romance, though. A little bit unexpected, a little bit strange in its progression, but, all in all, poetic and beautiful. If my writing is clunky and ruins the mood, making this the literal _opposite_ of poetic and beautiful, I sincerely apologize and hope you will tell me what I did wrong and can fix in the comments.  
>  Thank you all, and please enjoy :D
> 
> ~~~~
> 
> To Noa, for reminding me just how much I love this ship with their wonderful story, _Wildflower._
> 
> And to HeadOfSpectre, my treasured friend, who from the outset supported my love for this pairing and consistently encouraged me to write. He taught me the valuable lesson that it didn't matter what others wanted to read, only what I wanted to write.
> 
> ~~~~

Sun thought Gladion was _really_ cute.

That wasn’t something he had even needed to think about when he’d met Gladion. Of course, he at first didn’t think there was any chance he’d ever really know him. He was a member of Team Skull,  after all. Fate had set them on different sides of the chessboard, and that was just the way it was. Besides, he was always angry. Sun didn’t have much desire to pursue him because of it - Although he definitely hoped to see more of the 17-year-old. Even if it was just to look at him, he wanted to battle more with him.

That’s what it  _started_ as. But as they battled more, Sun began to notice just how _deep_ Gladion’s connection to his Pokémon was. He almost envied it - Gladion refrained from speaking much during battles not because he didn’t want to speak, but rather because he didn’t have to. Just a few words, and his Silvally knew exactly what they were supposed to do. It was like Gladion had a psychic bond with his Pokémon.

It began to intrigue Sun - Pokémon did not behave like that if they had been treated badly. They only behaved that way if they were best friends with their trainer. Sun wondered if perhaps Gladion was soft, emotional, and empathetic under that hard, cold face - Or rather, façade.

Furthermore, Sun began to notice the sheer emotion within Gladion as he battled - It was like his life depended on it. He delivered every command to his Pokémon with dramatic hand gestures, shouted every word he said, and wore an expression like he was fighting in a great war. Sun could tell Gladion wasn’t just doing it for the show - He was really just that invested in the battle. It just made Sun wonder even more what was under that boy’s skin.

When Sun found out Gladion was Lillie’s sister and Lusamine’s son, he suddenly wanted to hug him. Just imagining what it all must have been like - The pain, the anger, the regret, the betrayal... The idea of leaving his sister with a monster... Sun understood why he always seemed angry. His life had been plagued with misfortune. Everything had gone wrong for him.

When Lusamine was taken to Kanto with Lillie, and their adventure was over - Sun almost found himself sad. Sure, they’d restored peace in the region, but now Sun found himself alone. The duties of being Alola’s First Champion were beginning to tax him heavily, and he never saw Gladion anymore. When Gladion had challenged him on his way to the Elite Four, he had seemed truly happy for the first time since Sun had met him - And once Sun saw him smile once, he decided he wanted to see it a lot more often. His heart jumped into his throat when Gladion had said they were no longer enemies, but sank slightly when he said they weren’t friends, either. It was... It was a start, at least.

 

* * *

 

 

He had been invited to Gladion’s 18th birthday celebration at the Aether Paradise. Apparently he was now President of the Foundation. When he got there, he was told that, despite Gladion insisting that there be no party for him, Wicke had prepared one. He enjoyed the festivities, of course - But Gladion was very busy with the large amount of guests who were now his business partners and prospects, and he disappeared halfway through the party. Sun never even got a hello.

Sun eventually decided to leave - What was the point of staying? - So he made his way to the exit, but decided he’d stop in the Conservatory first. Seeing the Pokémon from all sorts of different places coexisting together was calming to him.

As he made his way to the center area, where he had first seen Nihilego all those months ago, he noticed a figure - Standing in the very spot Lusamine had on that day.

The figure was slender, with long legs and narrow hips, a skinny body and broad shoulders, a head of blond hair. Gladion.

Sun walked slightly closer, trying to keep his shoes from making noise on the floor.

“Not fond of crowds, are you...?” Said Sun, trailing off.

Gladion’s head whipped around, his face filled with confusion. As he recognized Sun, his features softened into something that looked like quiet respect for the Champion. This made Sun smile.

“No...” He said slowly. His lips turned up slightly. “Not really.”

Sun nodded, walking to stand next to him. “Yeah. Me neither. Too noisy. And I bet it was pretty annoying to have so many people trying to talk to you at once.”

Gladion shrugged slightly under the hoodie that Sun had thought of as the cutest article of clothing ever for several months. “Yeah, how’d you know? I thought it would take a _genius_ to understand why it’s unpleasant to be poked and prodded at like an experiment.”

“I didn’t peg you as the sarcastic type,” joked Sun.

“I didn’t peg you as the type to understand me,” Said Gladion.

Sun’s face grew hot. “O-Oh?”

“Yeah, well... I mean, maybe not,” Gladion added quickly, face slightly pink. “I’ve only been speaking to you for a few moments now, and this is the first time we’ve ever spoken as... Friends. So... Maybe you just had a lucky guess. Maybe you don’t actually understand. Who knows.”

“Yeah, maybe... But I thought you said we weren’t friends...”

Gladion shrugged again - It seemed to be a common gesture for him. “Yeah, well... I thought about it, and, I really can’t pretend you aren’t a friend. First of all, you were a tremendous friend to my sister - Being around you just made her so happy. Second, you... You saved my family. If you hadn’t been there, she would have tried to fight Mother alone, or maybe with me, and... She wasn’t a trainer. No way she could have taken on Team Skull _and_ an angry jellyfish by herself, or even with me. She would have... She would have died if it hadn’t been for you. I probably would have, too... And you saved Mother’s life, now that I think of it. Plus there’s the whole... Thing with you also saving the entire region from the Ultra Beasts, which deserves a thank you on its own.” Gladion cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Sorry. I’m rambling. Point is, even if I don’t really know you, you’re definitely a friend of my family. I’m sorry I was stupid enough to say otherwise.”

Sun remained silent.

“Which reminds me, have you been here the whole time? I looked for you and didn’t see you,” Said Gladion.

“Oh - You knew I was here?”

“Well I didn’t know if you’d show up, but I obviously expected it. I invited you. _Duh.”_

“Haha! That’s funny, because I actually thought Wicke had invited me.”

“Why’d you assume that?”

Sun fidgeted slightly. “’Cus you said we weren’t friends... So I figured...”

Gladion sighed. “Look, don’t take things like that to heart. I was very confused a few months ago - And I still am. My life has changed a lot in the last couple years, and I’m still adjusting to the most recent few changes. So don’t... If I say stuff like that, I probably don’t mean it.”

“...Okay... Oh, and you didn’t see me because I happen to be _short,_ in case you had forgotten.”

Gladion gave a small chuckle. “Right. Well... I mean, you’ll get taller eventually.”

Sun snorted. “Please, you sound like my mom. A: I really don’t care what height I am. And B: Believe me, I’m not getting that much taller than this. I come from a long line of short people - No pun intended. Besides, next to you everyone looks short.”

Gladion laughed more, and the sound was like golden bells to Sun. “I guess I get that from my Mother.”

There was silence for a moment, and then Sun spoke up. “So... Why did you invite me?”

Gladion seemed to think for a moment. “I guess I felt like we should be friendly. Again, I owe you a lot. Not just for the deeds you did, but also for the way you affected my sister. She hasn’t been as happy as she was with you since... Well... Ever since before my mother went downhill.”

Sun nodded solemnly. The subject of Lusamine still made him slightly uncomfortable.

“Which reminds me, I’ve been meaning to ask... Forgive me if this is... Too private for me to mention, but I couldn’t help noticing just how close you two seemed. Were you - Ahem, were you two... Together...?”

Sun had seen the question coming from a mile away, but was too flustered by his close proximity to Gladion to even think of how he would respond. “Uh...” He began lamely. “No. I mean, your sister - Your sister’s _great,_ really kind and, if you don’t mind me saying, very pretty - But... No. It wasn’t... Like that. She was like a best friend or a sister to me, and that’s all I could ever see her as, I think. Besides, Hau would probably have my head if I ever went after her like that.”

Gladion laughed again. “He liked her? That’s hilarious. I know Lillie thought he was funny and very nice, so I wouldn’t completely rule out the possibility of a future relationship between them. If... You know, if she comes back soon. Well, if you _do_ get a girlfriend at some point in the near future, I’d keep it secret if I were you! You’re the Champion, people will be all over you - You won’t be able to go _anywhere_ with her in public!” He seemed to be joking.

Sun licked his lips nervously. The word ‘girlfriend’ hung heavy in the air, making Sun’s shoulders quiver. He hoped Gladion didn’t notice. Hearing _her_ made him wish it were that easy - Made him wish he weren’t himself.

“Right...”

Gladion cleared his throat, seeming to pick up on Sun’s discomfort. “So... Sorry, I’ve kind of forgotten. How old are you again?”

“15.” Sun’s face reddened and he quickly jumped back into the conversation. “Er - I mean - I’m turning 16 in, like, a month!!” Hoping he didn’t sound too eager to throw that detail in, he gave a nervous laugh.

Gladion rolled his eyes and chuckled quietly. “Sweet 16, huh?”

Sun snorted again and shrugged. “Something like that.”

“I better be getting an invitation. I’m not going to pay for you to eat caviar and then not even get to go to your party.”

“No offense, but I didn’t _touch_ your caviar.”

“None taken. It wasn’t _my_ caviar, anyway. I told Wicke no one would want any, but she _insisted_ that it would make me look good and therefore had to be at the party. She’s really concerned about making me look like an adult rather than a kid. I guess because that way I look good for the big donors and the corporations supporting us. She wants them to see me as a President rather than the President’s child.”

Sun nodded. “That makes sense. It’s probably very annoying, though.”

Gladion smiled a little. “You have no idea. Last week I wanted to go train with Silvally and she said it wouldn’t look professional. Just a month ago I was going to go challenge _you,_ actually, and she said that if I lost it would look bad. It’s silly. I knew I would lose. The whole point of battling is to strengthen your bond with your Pokémon and get better at it, not to win...”

“Alright, _Aristotle.”_

Gladion pouted. “Why do I have to be that one? He’s, like, the most boring philosopher ever...”

”Because he’s the first one I thought of. Or something. I don’t know... Besides,” Continued Sun. “I _would_ wipe the floor with you.”

“Oh _really?_ Well we’ll see that soon, then, because as soon as Wicke says I’ve successfully convinced the rich people I’m _also_ rich, fussy, and totally not into Pokémon battling, I can get back into said Pokémon battling and challenge you!”

Sun’s face was beginning to get hot just thinking about seeing Gladion battle him once more - The eyes so full of passion, the arms that moved with such precise grace to command his Pokémon, the strong voice that delivered instructions like a drill sergeant.

Gladion’s face seemed to become more serious. “Sun,” He said. “I have something I want... I have something with me I want you to take. I don’t have the time to watch over them, and I also... Want you to know what it’s like to train one.”

He turned to face Sun and removed a Pokéball from his pocket, placing it gently in Sun’s outstretched hand.

“It’s one of the other two Type: Nulls,” Said Gladion, sighing slightly. “They are very friendly, don’t worry. But... Mine was a little afraid of me at first. I just had to show them I was a friend and not an enemy. If you ever have any questions about them, I’d be happy to help you understand them. They’re an... Interesting Pokémon, that’s for sure.”

Sun stared at the ball in disbelief for a moment before shaking his head. “I can’t accept them...”

“Of course you can, Sun! If anyone can train them, it’s you. I’ve seen you battle before. You and this Type: Null would make an excellent team. I’m _sure_ of it.”

“I - It’s... It’s too... _Personal...”_

“It isn’t too personal! I just want you to have them. I want to make up for how badly I treated you earlier. And besides, I honestly don’t have time to take care of them, but I still want them to see the world. I have confidence that you can help them with that. It’s... Training with a Type: Null and getting them to the point where they trust you enough to let you remove the helmet... It’s an experience that changed me for the better, and I think it would change anyone. I want you to experience it.”

“I - Alright. If you want me to take them, I will.”

Gladion smiled. “Yes, I do. Thank you. Tell me how it goes.”

“I will,” Nodded Sun. “But... Uh... I should probably get back home. I have a lot to do tomorrow and it’s getting kind of late.”

Gladion nodded. “Of course. Thank you again for coming, and thank you again for taking care of the Type: Null. Best of luck!”

“Thank you for having me, and thanks for trusting me with them.”

Gladion seemed a little uncomfortable - Sun thought he was probably debating whether he should shake Sun’s hand. They didn’t know each other well enough to hug - Which Sun was very glad for; he would have died on the spot - But also shaking hands seemed too cold, too formal. Leaving without either seemed even stranger. In the end, Sun decided he’d take his chances with the third option, and just waved at Gladion before leaving the Paradise.

As he walked home, his fingers still burned from the small moment of contact they’d had with Gladion’s as he handed him the ball. He approached his house with a spring in his step.

 

 


	2. Sweet Sixteen

Sun was going to suffocate.

His face had never been redder in his life, and his hands were shaking so hard that he had already dropped his phone five times.

“Jesus, _breathe...”_ He said to himself, trying his best to calm down. He slowly punched in the Aether Foundation number. He held the phone to his ear, pressing against the sides so hard that his fingers went white just to ensure that he didn’t drop it.

“Hello, this is Assistant Br - Err, sorry, _Branch Chief_ Wicke. How can I help you?” Came Wicke’s voice.

“Er - Um - Wicke?” Began Sun. His voice was small and meek.

“Oh - Sun! What a joy to hear from you! I assume Gladion probably gave you this number? We don’t just give the Branch Chief number to _everybody,_ seeing as we’re so busy with - Sorry. Ahem. Excuse me for my rambling. What did you need?”

“Well, umm... Can I - Would it be possible for me to speak to sp-speak with him? Err - With Gladion?”

Wicke chuckled slightly. “Of _course_ it is. Hang on, let me turn on his call indicator... He’ll let me know when he’s ready to answer. He’s probably in a meeting. In the meantime, do you mind if I ask what it is? It must be _pretty important,_ if the Champion is calling.” There was something about her voice that was mischievous - Something that made Sun feel like she knew _exactly_ what was going on and that she intended to enjoy every second of it.

“Oh, well, you know... It’s not really a pr- _pressing_ matter... I’d just like to - To run it by him as soon as possible...”

“Oh - Looks like he’s ready to take your call. It was pleasant speaking with you, Sun, as always!” She chirped.

“Th-Thanks, you too.” Stammered Sun.

There was a beep, and then the President of the Aether Foundation answered his phone.

“Hello, Aether President Gladion speaking.”

Sun began to formulate a smart-ass response - Something that made fun of his new formal tone, or the way he had to try _so hard_ to not speak in the voice of a teenager, but right as his plan came together, he giggled a few times - And then burst out laughing.

Gladion sighed in annoyance, but Sun could tell he was smiling. “This phone is for a little thing called _business calls._ Have you heard of them?” Gladion couldn’t help but chuckle quietly.

Sun took a moment to catch his breath before answering. “Oh, I’m sorry, Gladion, I should have just called your _cell phone -_ Oh, wait! You didn’t _give_ me your cell phone!”

Gladion snorted. “Well... Whoops. This one’s my fault then, I guess. Jeez, you could have just _asked...”_

Sun briefly considered telling the truth - _No, I couldn’t have, because I’d be so embarrassed I’d die -_ But settled on, “Well I didn’t think you were the type to want people having your phone number!”

Gladion was silent for a moment. “Well... Normally you’d be right. But you’re the Champion, and so I should probably have it for emergency purposes anyways. Besides, it’s been two weeks and you haven’t spammed my email - So I assume you can be trusted with the privilege of the Emo Phone.”

Sun could barely keep from laughing. “The _Emo Phone?”_

“Yes! That’s what it’s _called!”_

“It is _not!”_

“Yes, it is. I will call Wicke _right now_ and have her list it as that on my new business cards. Everyone will know they’re calling someone important.”

“How the _hell_ would a name like that make them think you’re imp - For fu - Nevermind. You’re a lost cause.”

Gladion laughed. “Pretty much, yeah.”

“Umm... But I thought you wouldn’t want to invite the comparison between you and an emo edgelord any more than you already do, just by... Umm... _You...”_

Gladion feigned a gasp. “How _dare_ you!” He cleared his throat and spoke again. “I mean... At this point I’ve accepted that that’s the way people see me. Oh well. The more I deny it, the more they’re gonna think it, right?”

“I... Guess so.”

“Anyway, what were you calling about?”

The sense of comfort that Sun always felt when he and Gladion shared a laugh suddenly disappeared. His face lit up once again, his heart quickened in pace, and his voice became wobbly and unsure.

“Umm...” He began. “So I remember you saying you wanted to, uh, come to my birthday party... Y’know, since you’re all mad about the fact that Wicke forced a spoon of caviar into your mouth - “

“Hey! You know that’s not what happened!” Interrupted Gladion, earning a snort from Sun.

“ - And I just wanted to tell you that it’s in about a week, if you’re still interested. Friday, 4 P.M. It’s... Not going to be a huge party, since I still don’t really... Know anybody in Alola. But I’d still, um, appreciate it if you came. Hau will be there, too.”

There was silence for a moment. “Yeah. Of course I’ll come.” There was something like pity in Gladion’s voice, perhaps because he’d realized that Sun didn’t really have any friends aside from Lillie, Hau, and himself. It would have bothered Sun, had it not been mixed in with something that seemed to mean that Gladion thought Sun deserved better. It was empathy rather than hollow sympathy.

Sun’s core heated up and he smiled slightly. “Cool. It’s... It’s just going to be at my house, so... Nothing special. But, yeah...”

“Of course it’s special! You’ll be there, after all.”

Sun nearly died on the spot. It didn’t sound like Gladion had said it because he felt the same way Sun did, more just like he thought Sun was a special person, without any romantic implications. A strictly platonic comment. _Still a start,_ Sun reminded himself.

“Well... Thanks. And don’t tell anybody, I’ve actually been having a lot of paparazzi problems lately...”

“Dude. _Me.”_

Sun laughed. “I guess that’s _one_ thing we have in common, at least. Anyways, I’m glad you’re coming. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call me.”

“Oh! That’s right, I never got your phone number?”

“Uh - “ Sun’s face looked like a giant cherry. “Y-Yeah, I can give it to you.”

“Thanks. I’ll text you so you have mine...”

When Sun went down to dinner, it was very hard to explain to his mother why he was grinning like a toddler on Christmas Morning.

 

* * *

 

 Sun was, to put it simply, freaking out a little bit.

It was 3:30, and Gladion could have shown up at any minute. Sun was looking into the mirror, fussing with his hair and attempting to relax by breathing deeply. It wasn’t exactly working.

The doorbell rang.

“Shit,” Cursed Sun, his head falling into his hands.

He rushed down the stairs to open it, taking a look through the peephole first. Sun breathed in a sigh of relief when he saw Hau instead of Gladion.

As he opened his front door, he took note of the lovely aroma coming from the kitchen. His mother was going to be making dinner later in the evening, and he supposed she had already started preparing.

Hau’s smiling face greeted him when he opened the door, and his attitude was infectious. Sun’s lips spread into a grin as he ushered Hau inside.

“How are you?” He said, closing the door behind him.

“I’m doin’ great! How’re you?” Said Hau, tossing his shoes off and giving Sun a hug.

“Oh! Uh...” Sun hadn’t exactly been expecting it and had to register what was happening for a moment before he hugged back. “I’m fine. Just been... Really busy lately, you know?”

Hau stepped back and nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense. You are the Champion, after all! Still though, I feel like I’ve barely seen you these last few months.”

“Well, you kind of haven’t… That’s sort of my fault.”

Hau waved a hand. “Nah, I get it. You’ve got responsibilities.”

Sun grinned. “Thanks for understanding.”

Everything seemed to be going okay - And then the doorbell rang.

Alarm bells went off in Sun’s mind as his jaw went slack and his throat dried up. Hau looked confused.

“It’s… It’s Gladion,” Explained Sun. “Sorry, I thought I had told you he was coming.”

Hau laughed. “You didn't, but that’s okay. I don’t really know him that well, is he… Doing okay?”

Sun shrugged. “I think so. Neither do I, but… I really want to, I think,” He said, unable to keep from blushing slightly.

He opened the door slowly and was greeted with Gladion’s smiling face. He ushered him inside, unsure of what exactly to do with his shaking hands as he said hello to him.

They all talked for some time, laughing at the base of Sun’s stairs while waiting on nothing in particular. Eventually, the conversation began to subside.

“So… What do you want to do?” Asked Hau. “It’s your birthday!”

Sun’s eyes narrowed. “I wanna kick your ass in Mario Kart, that’s what I wanna do.” As soon as it left him, he became a worried mess -

 _Oh fuck i shouldnt have said that oh fuck oh fuck what if thats nerdy what if he likes nerdy he could but what if he doesnt oh shit i fucked up what if he doesnt know how to play what if he hates games oh fuck_ -

Gladion touched his shoulder and his head whipped around.

There was determination in his eyes… “Good, you’ll save me the trouble. That way I only have to kick _one_ ass instead of _two._ Lillie will tell you, before things went bad for us, we played a lot of video games together. I _always_ beat her in Kart.”

Sun sat in shock for a moment, before grinning back at Gladion. _“I’d like to see you fucking try, President,”_ He whispered.

The next few hours passed very pleasantly indeed, and for some reason, it didn’t bother Sun one bit when he got his ass kicked a few times.

 

* * *

 

Sun’s mother had made a very smart decision.

Well, okay, it was a _terrible_ decision, but Sun chose to think of it as very smart, because it worked out _wonderfully_ for him.

Sun’s mom had made dinner, kept her houseguests’ portions cooking so they'd stay hot while she ate hers, and then gone on a ‘walk…’ Which left the three to freely make jokes relating to drugs, sex, and violence - And also gave them guilt-free access to a library of words neither Sun or Gladion had been able to say in even remote public ever since attaining their fame. Sun wondered if perhaps his mother knew they’d do so anyways, so she may as well get out of the house. Otherwise she’d just be hearing all sorts of awkward whispers at the dinner table and a few stifled laughs.

Treating Gladion like a _friend_ was, admittedly, weird at first. Making said jokes, using said words even when they weren’t actually necessary, in general just _being a teenager -_ It felt… Strange. Sun had been so focused on impressing Gladion, or at the very _least_ acting in ways that would let Gladion tolerate him, but he soon realized that Gladion was 18.

_Eighteen._

Only two years older than he was.

In many ways, Gladion was just like Sun and Hau. As soon as Gladion started furiously whisper-shouting _“Fuck you! You cheating little bastard, fuck you! Fuck you!”_ At Sun after a particularly _rough_ battle for first place, Sun had realized that Gladion had to act a certain way in public, just like he did - And under that, they were extremely similar. They were just as similar as their fa ç ades were. He _also_ realized that when someone you really like is beating you with pillows and fake-punching you, it is _extremely_ hard to not make it obvious that you’re head over god damn heels for them.

Sun also quickly learned that, yes, there _was_ happiness under Gladion’s skin. He just didn’t show it unless there was a reason for him to, unlike Hau. Sun was mostly the same as Gladion in that respect, actually, he just felt obligated to fake it when he didn’t feel happy. Apparently Gladion did not.

Sun was quickly learning that, _yes,_ he and Gladion shared many similarities.

It made him truly, genuinely happy, something he hadn’t been in a while.

After dinner, they played various video games in Sun’s room for hours, until the room was pitch black save for the bright, blue glow of the TV that washed onto their faces and turned them all into beautiful moons, shimmering with greatness and innocence, and reflecting the goodness of the world outward.

Sun looked at these moons and realized something.

These were his _friends._ They were truly, honestly his _friends._ Of course, one of them was missing, but… Now that all the dust had settled, they had time to do this kind of thing, they had time to just… Be _kids,_ something that was taken from them so suddenly.

Sun liked these people, liked them a lot. And for the first time in a long time, Sun felt comfortable in his skin, and loved his life, loved every glorious second of it. It was no longer passing him by, he was _here,_ he was _real,_ and he felt truly _alive_ and full of love for everything in the world, both the two people next to him, and also everything that lay beyond the walls of his home.

Finally, everyone’s fingers started to hurt, and it was almost late enough to be considered early. Their talking died down slightly, and it became clear that no one really had the energy to even _try_ to win in the games anymore. _When the CPUs are the ones beating you rather than each other, you know everyone’s had enough,_ Thought Sun, smirking slightly. _Or you’re just really shit. Maybe we’re just really shit._

Gladion and Hau laughed.

“Oh…” Said Sun, smiling. “I didn’t realize I was talking,” He said sheepishly.

Gladion nodded at him. “That’s okay. We all do it. Probably a sign it’s time for us all to get some sleep. Although, I’m _very offended…_ Calling me shit…”

Sun grinned. “We _are_ really shit. All three of us. But you know what? I couldn’t be happier.”

Then there was this one moment.

This one fleeting moment, this feeling - Something deep and powerful, something cosmic and impossible to understand, in which Sun and Gladion kept eye contact and it _meant_ something.

It meant something, and Sun couldn’t tell what, but there was this shimmering in Gladion’s eyes, and this deep meaning with which he looked at Sun, like he was staring into his soul.

There was a silent connection, something Sun couldn’t explain with science, had no evidence to back up, but _knew_ it was there, because he just _felt_ it.

And then, before Sun could assess the situation any further, it was over.

“Well, I should get going,” Said Gladion, looking at the floor, his cheeks just slightly dusted with pink.

Hau got up and stepped towards them - He’d been _lying_ on the floor, probably because he literally stuffed himself at dinner. Sun was very thankful for that, because Hau, bastard genius that he was, would have known what that moment meant and that was something he’d rather reveal by himself.

“Um, Hau’s actually… Staying. Over. For the night. Ahem.” Stammered Sun. _Well, this is just going fucking great, isn’t it,_ He thought. “Would you want to, too?”

Gladion seemed to think for a moment. It was probably only a second or two, but it felt like hours to Sun, who was already mentally kicking himself for the way he’d executed the invitation.

“I…” He began. “I’d love to, actually. But I’ve got this stupid meeting in the morning. I should… Really be getting to bed. And, _no offense to either of you,_ but I have a feeling your little sleepover is going to involve very little _sleeping.”_

Sun’s face went crimson. “I - What? _Excuse me?”_

Gladion guffawed. “Because you’ll be fucking _talking,_ you idiot! Jesus _Christ!”_

Hau was laughing too, and Sun allowed himself to do the same.

Hau put his hand on his shoulder. “No offense, Sun,” He said. “But I’m not into boys.” He turned to Gladion and cocked his thumb at the Champion. “He, on the other hand… I’m not quite so sure.”

Now it was Sun’s turn to be dramatic. He placed his hands on his hips. “I - _Excuse me?” Stupid, don’t overuse a phrase…_ The anxious part of him said, but he brushed it away. He was genuinely having a good time, and he wasn’t going to let his anxiety rob him of that.

The room was totally laughter now.

“Well, if you’re so _straight,_ why didn’t you ask Lillie out?” Said Hau, between laughs.

“We were more of _siblings,_ you know - “

“Oh, _stop,_ you liked her. Why didn’t you say anything?”

Gladion, surprisingly, came to his rescue - But did so in a way that damned him. “Because he didn’t want you to be mad!” He exclaimed, his teeth like knives as he smiled at Sun.

Sun readied himself for Hau’s pillow assault before it came, which helped - Not that it hurt much, anyways.

“I’m - _Ow!_ Sorry, Hau!” Sun was laughing too hard now. He could barely _breathe._

“Can’t _believe_ you told him!” Exclaimed Hau. He eventually turned to the side and just started shaking his head, but he was still grinning.

“Anyways…” Began Gladion.

Sun stood up and interrupted him. “Yeah, you need to go. I get it. I’m sorry you couldn’t stay, though!”

The corners of Gladion’s lips were pulled up by an invisible force. “Yeah, me too.”

Sun and Hau followed him down the stairs.

Once they reached the door, Sun began to wonder… _Would this ever happen again?_

“Hey, um..” He said as Gladion opened his door. “You know, I was just thinking… I know you’re busy, Gladion, I’d know what that’s like more than anyone. And, Hau, you’re training to be a Kahuna, I know… But I was wondering… If we have the time… Can we just - Do this? Just… For no reason other than to do it?”

Gladion smiled. “It was really fun to just get to be a kid for a little bit again, since for the last couple months I’ve been expecting to see grey hairs when I look in the mirror. If I had time, I’d definitely say yes, but I probably won’t.”

Sun bowed his head.

“That sucks!” Said Hau. “I mean, I’m busy, too, but _seriously!_ It’s not fair how much you guys work.”

“You didn’t let me finish…” Began Gladion. “I won’t have time, but I’m probably going to do this every couple weeks _anyways,_ even though it’s an awful decision. But right now you’ve got me in an 18-year-old mentality, and 18-year-olds tend to make awful decisions. Adult Gladion can deal with my regrets later, when Wicke literally has to drag him out of bed like a 7-year-old in the morning.”

Sun gave a small smile. “Won’t 18-year-old Gladion remember how awful that felt and never do it again?”

The Aether President shook his head. “No. 18-year-olds tend to have selective memory. They learn the same lessons a million times and they never stick.”

Sun exhaled. “Thank fuck for that…”

“Yay!” Exclaimed Hau. “Yay for making awful decisions!”

There were a few chuckles, and then Gladion smiled at them both and left the house.

The second the door was shut, Hau turned to him.

“You said your mom already went to bed, right?”

Sun’s brow furrowed. “Uh - Yeah… Why?”

Hau rolled his eyes and pounced on him, grabbing his arm.

 _“What the fuck was going on with you tonight?”_ He hissed between gritted teeth. There was still kindness and joviality in his eyes.

Sun swallowed. “I - What do you mean? Didn’t I seem happy?”

Hau sighed and rolled his eyes again. “Of _course_ you seemed happy. _Too_ happy. In fact… You almost seemed…” He let go of Sun for a second and looked faraway searching for the right words. “Drunk,” He decided, smiling and chuckling as he said it.

Sun’s eyes narrowed. “I can’t just be happy I’m 16?”

Hau narrowed his eyes, too. “Sun, there’s literally no reason you’d be excited about turning 16. Like, other than age of consent, _which we all know you’re not doing anything about,_ there’s nothing special -”

“Oh, come off it!” Said Sun. “Why has my sex life, or lack thereof, been everybody’s business tonight?”

Hau put his hands on his hips. “We are _going_ to have this discussion about you acting funny, and you can either do it out here where your mother will eventually wake up and walk in on it, or up there,” He said, cocking his thumb towards the stairs.

Sun rolled his eyes again - Interacting with Hau sometimes involved a lot of eye-rolling - And begrudgingly walked up the stairs, followed by Hau.

When they got ready to go to sleep and settled in on Sun’s carpet with a large bedsheet, he noticed just how _proud_ Hau was that he was finally going to get some answers. Hau, despite being innocent as anyone could be, had his way of getting information.

 _“Well,”_ Spat Sun, attempting to feign annoyance, but failing miserably due to a smile that just wouldn’t go away. “You wanted to ask me questions, ask them.”

Hau seemed to think for a moment - Probably trying his best to order them, since there were definitely a lot.

“Do you have some kind of anxiety disorder?” He asked, tipping his head slightly.

Sun licked his lips and turned away slightly. “Yes. Next Question.”

“Oh - Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked, that was… Wrong. I… If you didn’t want to talk about it, you could have -”

“I don’t want to talk about it, but I don’t mind acknowledging it. _This_ is talking about it, and I don’t want to talk about it. Thanks. Next question.”

_Idiot now he’s going to always think of you as -_

Sun bit his hand, and it hurt enough that his own thoughts slowed down. The pain consumed his thought process, stopped that annoying part of him from thinking. There was quiet. There was peace.

Hau gasped. “Don’t do that! I’m sorry! Don’t… Harm…”

“Oh for the love of - I’m not _harming._ Er… I wouldn’t call it that, anyway. I’m just trying to.... When I do that, I kind of stop thinking about whatever stupid thing I said. It doesn’t _harm_ me, there’s no bruise or anything, it just _stings_ a little.”

Hau shook his head. _“I’d_ call it harming. Not all self-harm involves knives, you know.”

Sun shrugged. “Consider it a coping mechanism instead, then.” He turned completely on his side so that if he felt the need to _cope_ again, Hau wouldn’t see it. What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

“Alright,” Said Hau. “Please don’t do it ever again, it worries me. Next question is: Why were you so weird tonight?”

Sun wrapped the blankets tighter around himself, suddenly glad he had turned away from the training Kahuna earlier, as his face was now the color of a cherry. “No reason.”

Hau sighed. “C’mon, Sun. I’m your best friend, right?”

Sun breathed in and out slowly. “Yeah, fine, yeah.”

“Great!” Exclaimed Hau. “Then there’s nothing you can’t tell me, right?”

Sun thought for a moment, and then it hit him. He didn’t like lying to people he liked, but… Well… He could make an exception. “It was weird because Lillie wasn’t here,” He forced out.

There was silence, and then shuffling as Hau moved closer to place his hand on Sun’s back.

“I miss her, too.”

Sun guffawed. “Uh, _yeah,_ I don’t think I was ever questioning that.”

“Pff, yeah,” Snorted Hau. “I just… I’m saying, I get it. But, you know, Gladion’s pretty cool, too. It’s nice that he’s… Happy, I think.”

Sun nodded. “Yeah. He _is_ pretty cool.”

“So,” Said Hau. “That brings me to another question… Why uh… Why _didn’t_ you -”

 _“Siblings,”_ Interrupted Sun, hissing slightly.

Hau sighed. _“Jeez,_ Sun, if you liked her, you don’t have to… Act like you didn’t. I mean, that’s awesome that you’d do that for me, and stuff, but you’d make a better couple, anyway…”

“No, Hau, you belong with Lillie. I don’t. Her and I had a… Very… _Special_ relationship. But it wasn’t like _that.”_

“Did she know something I don’t know…?”

“Hau -”

“Sun, I wish you’d understand that… I’m not gonna… Judge you. For _anything._ That’s not what friends do. You can tell me this kind of stuff.”

There was silence, and Sun felt like the world was collapsing and burying him alive in rubble.

But this was Hau.

_This is Hau, and I know he’s cool about that stuff, so… Why the hell am I dealing with this stress when I could just tell him and be done?”_

Sun knew that Hau would pull him out of the rubble. All he had to do was ask.

“I’m gay as _fuck.”_ Adding the profanity made the sentence come easier for some reason, but Sun still felt like he _had_ to close his eyes, to burrow under his blankets, to _hide,_ to bite, and to bite, and to _bite,_ but this time it didn’t _work,_ nothing silenced his mind.

_You-fucking-idiot-he’ll-be-weird-around-you-now-and-think-you-like-him-god-damn-I’m-so-stupid-fuck_

Through the blurry whirlwind of his thoughts, Hau giggled and patted him on the back.

“You think I didn’t know?” He said. “Uh… Well, suspect. I didn’t _know._ But I was pretty damn sure. But you never told me, so I started to think… I dunno, maybe he isn’t. That took guts. It shouldn’t have, you should have known I’d be okay with it, but I get it. It still took guts. I’m proud of you for saying that to me.”

Sun nodded from under his blanket. “Thanks. How do you get it, though?”

Hau shrugged. “I’m panromantic… I’m ace, too.”

He nodded again. “Oh. Okay. I didn’t know.”

“That’s okay.”

Neither boy said anything for a few minutes.

Finally, Hau gasped.

“Oh my fuck! You lying _bastard!”_ He laughed loudly, pulling Sun’s covers off of his head. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it!”

“H-Hey!” Whisper-shouted Sun. “The fuck’re you doing?!”

Hau grabbed his shoulders. “You like Gladion!” He hissed.

_Well, fuck._

Sun’s face was as red as a laser.

“Ah- _Hah!”_ Exclaimed Hau. “The blush test! There we go. We’re done here. Go home, folks, show’s over!” He chirped.

“Shut up!” Sun squealed, but his grin was just as big as Hau’s.

“It all makes sense now! ‘I think I do want to get to know him!’ and ‘Yeah, he _is_ pretty cool!’ and your _face_ during that god damn pillow fight with him, it all makes _sense_ now!”

Hau was laughing so hard, and Sun was, too. For once, he felt okay sharing details about himself. For once, he wasn’t embarrassed.

“Oh, _fuck off._ As if you aren’t just as head-over-heels for Lillie.” Sun retorted, his eyes shimmering like gemstones.

Hau looked at him. “I am! I am! And that’s okay! And I’m glad you have somebody to feel that way about, too!”

Sun looked to the side. “So you don’t… It doesn’t make you feel awkward that you were here the whole night and the entire time I was pining after someone you barely knew?”

The training Kahuna shook his head. “Not at all. I mean, I feel bad that I cockblocked you all night.”

 _“Hau!_ I - We wouldn’t have - That’s not - I don’t...” Stammered the Champion.

The other boy rolled his eyes. “Yeah, _right._ But it would’ve been fine because if you two got together I honestly don’t think I’d ever be able to get you apart. Nothing could. Besides, now that I think of it, he _did_ seem awfully flirtatious with you…”

Sun’s legs gave out. “Y-You think…?”

Hau nodded. “Yeah! He was blushing a lot! And it was clear that he wanted to get closer to you, both figuratively _and -_

_“Hau!”_

“And he wanted to really _get to know you,_ on the outside _and the inside…”_

_“Hau, stop!”_

“And he really wanted to get in your _headspace,_ if you -”

Sun was laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe. “Hau…” He wheezed. “I get it…”

The other boy nodded. “Just making sure you understand. This concludes Sex Ed Day One, taught by Hau, Kahuna-in-training and asexual.”

Sun shook his head, eyes full of mirth.

“You should… You should really say something to him, you know? I bet he really likes you. Even if he doesn’t like you the same way you like him, he might start to feel that way the longer you’re around him. Because, I mean, he _obviously_ isn’t 100% straight.”

Sun raised an eyebrow. “‘Scuse me?”

“Just pointing out what I see…” Hau said, trailing off. “You should really go for it, Sun. You’re a really awesome person and I’m sure Gladion will see that. He’s smart. He runs a whole company dedicated to Pokémon research and conservation and shit.”

Sun swallowed. “Yeah, he is… He does…”

Hau giggled. “You _really_ like this dude, don’t you?”

The Champion’s cheeks went up in flames at that remark. “Yeah. Yeah, I do,” He decided.

Hau looked him in the eyes. “Then do something about it. Don’t make the same mistake I did and wait until it’s too late. _Do something about it.”_

 

* * *

 

_Lmao yeah, thanks for inviting me. It was super fun._

_Yeah, no problem! I’m glad you could come._

_And thanks for telling me all that shit. I’m really glad you did._

_Yeah, I think I am, too._

_Lol. Anyways, text me when you’re free for Kart! :D_

_K! I think we need to help each other get better at that damn game, because Edgelord pummeled_ both _of our asses more than half the time_

_PUMMELED OUR ASSES?!_

_Fuck_

_Jesus Christ, you gotta rethink your phrasing XD The only ass Gladion is going to be pummeling is yours :P_

_Shut the fuck up ;D_

 

 


	3. Aether's Secret

_Four o’clock in the morning._

When Sun got a text from Gladion about a week after his birthday party, it came in at about four o’clock in the morning.

 _Fuck you, Gladion,_ Thought Sun, with a smile. He hoped it was some sort of confession, but he knew better than to be so foolish.

When he saw the text, his heart stopped.

_Sun sorry but emergency. VLFS. Come as fast as you can. Bring strongest team. EMERGENCY. Thanks._

Sun had never left home quicker than on that morning.

 

* * *

 

He should have expected Ultra Beasts, really, but he hadn’t.

Instead, as he flew there on Charizard, he hoped that it was just some kind of Team Skull operation to steal from Aether.

How wrong he was.

He touched down, giving Charizard a pat and thanking him before dashing towards the Paradise's entrance.

The sleet was coming down hard, stinging Sun’s neck and face as he sprinted through the line of half-frozen water falling from the cloud. The sky was absolutely pitch black, and the VLFS was not as well-lit as Sun had expected.

He ran through the darkness, trusting his feet to remember where the main building’s entrance was. With some help from his phone’s flashlight, he was able to find it, although not as fast as he would have liked to. _Every second counts,_ He reminded himself.

As he opened the doors, his hand clenched on the Pokéball containing his Decidueye - The owl had not let him down before, and would not let him down now.

_Deserted._

Aether’s lights were all off, and no one could be seen.

Sun pulled out his phone and quickly texted Gladion.

_Where are you?_

_Palace. What we’re chasing isn’t here anymore, though. Meet me in the… Trophy room thing. Use basement entrance, it’s the weird door in front of elevator. I can unlock from Palace computer._

There was only one room Gladion could possibly have been talking about.

Sun sighed and started the lift to the basement. It buzzed to life and slowly lowered him. His knees were shaking and his breathing was shallow. He knew there was only one thing that they could possibly be what they were chasing. Well, technically, there were _seven_ possibilities, but each one of them was equally terrifying, and none of them belonged in this world.

Sun was cautious as the elevator descended, wary of an ambush. His eyes darted around, but he found no attacker.

Sun practically ran off the lift when it completed its journey, eager to get to Gladion before something bad happened to either of them. The front of the strange box-like structure in front of the elevator had split in half and moved to either side of it, revealing a stark white hallway. Sun had always wondered what the thing was, and it looked like he now had his answer. He had previously had no idea there was second entrance to the room under the Palace, but apparently there was.

He walked in silence for some time, and when he got nervous he let his Decidueye out of his Pokéball so they could walk side-by-side. The corridor got less and less well lit as they went on, and soon Sun could see nothing but a faint light at the end of the tunnel.

“Hey, you think we’re dead?” He muttered to the owl.

He merely hooted in response.

“Right,” Sun sighed. “Owl.”

The bird gave him an angry look.

“I didn’t mean you weren’t _smart,”_ the Champion clarified. “I meant you couldn’t _communicate_ with me.”

For a little while, the only sound was Sun’s feet as they hit the floor.

Finally, they came to the light and entered into a small room. It looked like an observation station, filled with all kinds of equipment and computers. Several monitors showed something that looked almost like an EKG.  Through some windows, Sun could see the room where the Nihilego had emerged and taken Lusamine to Ultra Space. On the windows was a piece of duct tape with sharpie written on it. “One-way glass. Remember, inhabitants cannot see you!” It read. It looked as though the room had remained untouched since Lusamine stopped using it for whatever she had been using it for, which Sun could only assume related to Ultra Wormhole experimentation in one way or another. He could understand why Gladion wouldn’t have wanted to go near the room again.

Suddenly, a high-pitched whining noise broke from one of the computers. Sun clutched at his ears, moaning in agony. Decidueye screeched - It was probably even worse on his sensitive ears - And then smashed the machine. The whining stopped.

And then, every single computer in the room started whining.

Their screens all filled with the same message: “Ultra Wormhole Scar destabilizing!”

All of the EKG-like monitors went crazy, and emitted their own warning noises. The room was full of sounds that made Sun want to rip his ears off. Out of pity, he decided to withdraw his partner.

A hole burst in the ceiling of the other room, and a Buzzwole flew in. Sun searched the room desperately for a teleporter to get down to the other area, and finally found one under a desk. He had to crawl to reach it, but he eventually got to it.

When he landed on solid ground in the Trophy Room, he felt dizzy and nauseous. He hated those damn teleporters...

There was no time to regain his bearings, though, so he forced himself upwards and sent out his Salazzle.

 _“Toxic!”_ He shouted.

Before the mosquito could recover from the shock of Sun’s sudden appearance, the lizard spat out a purple acid that hit them with insane precision. They made a weird shouting noise, and then flew at her.

She dodged, and followed Sun’s next command, using Flamethrower on the Ultra Beast. They cried out in pain, and then flew at her once again.

She dodged again, but after trying to dodge a few times, they caught her. They screamed in victory as they chomped relentlessly on her. Sun could do nothing. Sending out Decidueye wasn’t an option, he was too small and would be crushed, and he had no type advantage.

 _“Surf!_ Someone shouted.

Before Sun could react, the water around the edges of the room rose up and was pushed onto the floor by an invisible force. Even though the Buzzwole was the intended target, Salazzle was hit, too, and Sun wasn’t very dry himself. When the water drained, a soaking-wet Gladion atop a soaking-wet Silvally stood in the center of the room, having come through the teleporter via the Palace entrance.

Buzzwole did not get up.

Gladion smiled. “Thought you could use some help.”

Sun was awestruck - The stakes hadn’t been quite life or death, he had five other partners with him. Still, though… Gladion _had_ come to his rescue.

“Thanks!” He said. “Didn’t know you rode them.”

He shrugged in response. “They’re big enough. Nice job, you got them all weakened for me. Here, you may need Salazzle again,” Said Gladion, tossing him a Max Revive that he quickly used on her. “I doubt we’ll have time to use one again, though, so do any healing you want to now.”

Sun nodded and withdrew the healed Salazzle, to save her for later. “So… I assume there’s more, then.”

Gladion nodded solemnly. “I wouldn’t have woken you up at four if it was just one. Although, they aren’t here _yet.”_

 _“Yet?”_ Asked Sun.

The very floor shook underneath them, and it seemed as though the fabric of reality itself was trembling.

 _“Fuck,_ it’s happening again!” Hissed Gladion.

“What?!” Shouted Sun.

“A-fucking- _parently,_ since my mother literally tore the world apart several times in this building, there are little patches of instability. Scars, she dubbed them. And apparently, they reopen for no reason every now and again.”

“I saw something about that on the monitors in there! Well, this is just getting fucking _better_ and -”

Sun was cut off when a loud roaring like an ocean shook the walls, and suddenly the very air around a certain point in the room seemed to _shatter_ for a moment, and then the Ultra Wormhole opened.

First came a pair of Celesteela and a Xurkitree, neither of which was ideal.

Sun quickly glanced at Silvally to confirm they were currently Water-Type.

“Shit, your dog’s a lightning rod. Keep them away from Sparks McGee over there. I’ll handle them.” He said, leaving Gladion to deal with the two Blaster UBs, one of which was shooting out some kind of visible gas while the other readied what looked like a Hyper Beam from one of their weapons.

Gladion nodded, and Sun almost went weak at the knees, because the fire of passion was burning in his emerald eyes, brighter than it had in a long time.

 _“Zygarde!”_ Shouted Sun, throwing the ball that contained the serpent.

Their heavy body hit the ground with an audible _thud._ They proved that they were incredibly agile despite their size, dodging a few electric sparks coming from the Xurkitree. They slithered and serpentined around each attack, until they could get close enough to attack.

 _“Crunch!”_ Shouted Sun.

The large snake curled around Xurkitree and then bit their neck. They cried out in pain and release an intense electric shock that sent Zygarde flying. They recovered slowly.

_“Thousand Arrows!”_

Zygarde readied the green, spectral arrows, and then fired.

The Xurkitree was defenseless, and they came crashing down on them, one by one, as they shrieked in anguish.

Sun took a quick glance in Gladion’s direction - He was _not_ doing well.

Silvally’s Surf did almost nothing to them, and the dog only knew one Fire-Type move. Nothing Electric. Nothing that could harm the Celesteela, nothing but one measly Fire move.

 _“Thousand Waves!”_ Sun wanted to help Gladion desperately, but this was the priority. This thing could kill them all in seconds. He had an edge, and he didn’t want to lose it.

The attack hit, and it was clear that Xurkitree couldn’t take much more. Although, they did have one more trick up their sleeve.

Suddenly, they planted their appendages in the floor, and Sun felt a pain he’d never felt before.

Sun was being electrocuted.

 _Fuck you and your conductive floors, Lusamine!_ He shouted… But no words came out. He had no control. He was literally being fried. He tried to turn to look at Gladion, but wished he hadn’t. Gladion had the same expression on his face, _and his poor Silvally,_ and they were all going to _die_ because of a goddamn living electrical wire…

_Land’s Wrath._

It started out slow, but Sun instantly knew what it was. He was so glad in that moment that Zygarde was as intelligent as they were - It probably also helped that they were immune to the electricity.

As it picked up in intensity, the prickling, burning pain left Sun gradually and he regained control of himself - Only to fall to the floor, his entire body screaming in pain from both the electrocution and the nasty fall.

Everything was shaking, and Sun could see nothing but the ground. There were a few terrifying moments in which Sun was either worried one of them would fall off the edge into the water, or that he was already dead and this was some kind of twisted purgatory.

And then, as quickly as it had begun, it was over.

Sun got up as quickly as he could, and instantly shouted, _“Fuck!”_ Because, _My god,_ his entire body felt like someone had burned him in a fire and then tossed him around like sautéed vegetables. But he knew he had to do it, had to get up before those damn Celesteela. They may have been weak to Ground-Type moves, but Sun wanted to be sure.

Zygarde was tired out and couldn’t really move. The Xurkitree didn’t look like it would get up. Silvally was lying on the ground, moving their paws and whining. Gladion was on one knee, panting hard.

“You okay?” He asked.

“No, not at all. But I’m not dead, and neither are you.”

He shook his head. “No, I’m not. And the Celesteela are.”

Sun sighed, falling to the ground again. It hurt like hell to just fall on the hard floor, but _fuck_ was it a relief.

“Well, that’s good, then.”

And then the computers started whining again.

 _“God damn it!”_ Shouted Gladion.

He picked himself up, groaning in agony, and walked towards Sun. He offered a hand. “Our work isn’t over yet.”

Sun took hold, and allowed Gladion to pull him up, barely helping. _Wow, he must be strong._ Thought Sun. _I wonder what his body looks like under that - No time. No time._

Sun paled, and nearly fell forwards, as bile crept up his throat. His legs felt so useless, and he was so dizzy, and his head hurt so much. Gladion grabbed his shoulders, firm but reassuring, and kept him upright. Unbeknownst to Gladion, though, the fact that he grabbed Sun’s shoulders actually made the Champion’s knees even wobblier.

“You alright?”

“Y-Yeah… As I’ll ever be. Apparently getting electrocuted sucks.”

Gladion laughed. “Fuck, does it ever. Let’s go.”

Sun withdrew Zygarde, and then put their ball and Salazzle’s ball back onto his belt.

They hopped onto Silvally, and Gladion urged Sun to hold on to him - Which was a request Sun gladly obliged to - and then Silvally actually leaped up from the floor into the glass that had been shattered during the fight, landing in the observation area. Sun was amazed that they could jump so far.

“He’s very strong,” Explained Gladion, as if reading his mind. He rubbed Silvally’s head gently for a moment.

And then something _else_ came through the glass.

Four Kartana.

Gladion hopped off of Silvally, and Sun followed. They exchanged eye contact for a moment, and then Gladion smiled and sent out his Lucario. A Fighting-Steel-Type, the Aura Pokémon would fare well against Kartana.

“Distract them for a second!” Shouted Gladion.

Sun chose to battle with Salazzle and Lycanroc.

Gladion eyed the Rock-Type and then looked at the Grass-Steel type. “I hope you know what you’re doing…” He said.

“Always!” Exclaimed Sun.

He started by having Lycanroc lay out a Stealth Rock, which he could have sworn he saw Gladion roll his eyes at - Anyone who had ever battle the Champion knew that he _always_ led with his Midday Lycanroc scattering pointed stones across the battlefield. With trained Pokémon, the rocks would only harm them when they entered or exited the battlefield, but with wild Ultra Beasts who would no doubt move around the entire room, they would surely be hurt by a few of the stones.

_“Flamethrower! Sand Attack!”_

Two of the Kartana became badly burned, but two jumped out of the way just in time, landing behind Sun. Luckily, Gladion had finished installing his Fire-Type Memory into Silvally, and turned around.

“I’ve got your back!” He shouted.

 _What a bad time to make me embarrassed, Gladion,_ Thought Sun, smirking slightly.

All four had been hit by Sand Attack, though, and their accuracies were now greatly hindered.

Sun just kept hitting them with Flamethrower, until Salazzle became too exhausted to defend the disadvantaged Lycanroc. Salazzle threw herself in front of one, using Flamethrower right on top of them, while Lycanroc took the other’s hit. He nearly fainted. And then, Sun’s plan came to fruition.

_“Reversal!”_

A newfound energy and hope gleamed in Lycanroc’s eyes, and he leapt on the Kartana, finishing them off while Salazzle finished hers. Gladion’s two Kartana then hopped to Sun’s side. They did cut themselves on the stones, but they appeared much less hurt than the two fainted Ultra Beasts.

“They’re just to evasive! I can’t hit them!” Shouted Gladion.

Salazzle blasted them both with Flamethrower again, and Lucario hit them with Aura Sphere. Lycanroc hung back and Sun healed him quickly while Silvally hit one Kartana with Fire Fang. They fell, but one was still up, and was trying their damndest to attack Sun or Gladion directly. It was getting dangerous. Their partners were nearing exhaustion, and the Kartana was still as agile as ever.

When it seemed things could get no worse, two Perhomosa flew down the corridor towards them.

One was about to hit Sun, but Gladion dove in front of him to take the blow. They grabbed Gladion and pressed him against the wall. He commanded a final Fire Fang, and this, coupled with Sun’s attacks, finished off the Kartana.

Sun was then knocked to the floor by the second Pheromosa. They had struck from behind. All the breath left him as Phermosa pinned him to the ground with their high-heel-like foot. They laughed, and it sounded so much like Lusamine that Sun almost vomited.

 _“F-Flamethrower!”_ Wheezed Sun, and his Salazzle set the giant bug on fire. They screeched and flew away, hitting the wall in confusion. The other one threw Gladion to the floor and he crumpled like a doll. They levitated in the air, gliding towards Sun, somehow lifting him into the air with an invisible force and sticking him to the wall.

His Salazzle had taken to many hits, and she was exhausted. The same could be said for his Lycanroc.

The Phermosa’s eyes narrowed and they seemed to _smile_ for a second, bringing their face closer to Sun, a proboscis sharper than any needle Sun had ever seen protruding from their body and making a buzzing sound as it neared him. He was screaming his head off as he looked into their predatory face.

A well-placed Aura Sphere stunned the Pheromosa long enough for Silvally to get a Fire Fang in, and once they got ahold of them they did not let go. They sunk their teeth into the bug’s flesh, not letting go, holding them there for Sun’s Pokemon to attack as they screeched.

 _“Flamethrower! Rock Tomb!”_ The Pheromosa was finished off quickly, and the next one had somehow extinguished themself. They charged into Sun at full speed, hitting his solar plexus and knocking him onto his back. He saw stars against a black sky and his ears seemed to close for a second as every bit of air in his lungs was forced out of him. He could barely see, and he felt like he was going to throw up. His breaths were more like dry-heaves. He was gasping for air, sweet, _precious_ air, because he felt like he was suffocating.

His lungs were on fire and his eyes felt like someone had poured acid in them. When he finally regained coherence, all he saw was Perhomosa in front of him, proboscis extended, and four fainted Pokémon. For a moment he was worried about Gladion, but then a leg came into view - It bent at the knee, and the person attached to it turned their hips to the side, and it _punched_ Pheromosa. They fell to the side in a heap, making an utterly terrifying sound as Gladion ran to them and stamped them with his foot, repeatedly. Finally, they stopped moving. Gladion grabbed a piece of glass from the computer monitor and stabbed it into their head, closing his eyes in disgust, just to be sure.

 _Damn, he knows how to kick. That’s… Wait, why is that so hot?_ Thought Sun. He laughed, but it came out as more of a wheeze. Things still weren’t going so well for him. Gladion sent out his Crobat and told him to protect them for a second. He then knelt down next to Sun and placed his hand on Sun’s shoulder, gently.

“Not a fun place to be hit, is it.” He said.

“N-N- _No…”_ Wheezed Sun.

Gladion laughed and began to heal their Pokémon while Sun slowly got to his feet.

“We need to go _now,”_ Said the President.

He grabbed Sun’s hand - _Oh, great, now if we run into trouble I won’t be able to focus because my hand will still be tingling,_ Thought Sun - And pulled him down the corridor. The Champion yelped and quickly withdrew his healed Pokémon as he was dragged away and forced to break into a run.

“Sorry to pull, but we’ve got to move. We’re sitting ducks, and according to my mother’s journal, there’s something that can close the Scars again hidden in the Conservatory. We need to get there.” He was panting hard and running quicker than Sun could.

When they entered, they saw something that made them wish they had an Ultra Beast of their own.

_UB 08 - Guzzlord._

_The Gluttonous Dragon of Darkness._

Sun sent out his Greninja and Zygarde, and Gladion opted for Silvally and Lucario again.

The dragon charged at them, their mouth opening and closing rapidly and their tongues grabbing at everything around them. Gladion and Sun hopped out of the way just in time, and instructed their Pokémon to attack.

Zygarde attacked with Dragon Breath, and it clearly devastated the beast. They kept moving, though, and speared the serpent with one of their claws, chomping on them. They fainted almost instantly.

Lucario hit them with an Aura Sphere, and this clearly did a lot, too. However, both trainers knew that the beast could _take_ a lot.

They turned and nearly swept him up with one of their tongues, but he dodged and came in for a Close Combat. Guzzlord was beginning to show wounds, but the fact that it had taken this long for even that was troubling.

Silvally hit them with a Fire Fang - And then was instantly hit with the beast’s spiked tail. They went flying, and did not get back up. They had fainted, just like that.

Panic broke out on Gladion’s face, and one of the tongues clamped him. He screamed in agony as Sun instructed Greninja to hit the Dragon-Type with an Ice Beam. The Guzzlord recoiled in pain, dropping Gladion, who fell to their side, limp and useless.

Sun was alone now.

He got his Greninja to dodge the Guzzlord’s tail and then hit them with another Ice Beam, and this one froze the gluttonous monster.

Greninja was about to attack with Subzero Slammer, but Guzzlord freed themself and snatched him. He suffered the same fate as Zygarde.

Sun sent out his Salazzle, who was able to badly poison the dragon with Toxic, and hit them with Flamethrower, but the beast got to her, too. Her body fell to the floor like a marionette with its strings cut.

Sun was running out of options - The Dark-Type would crush his Decidueye and his Nebby, and a Pokémon as small as Lycanroc would not do much better.

Suddenly, something hit the dragon with Venoshock, and they collapsed. Sun didn’t try to figure out what it was. He ran straight to Gladion, who was bleeding badly from his chest.

 _“Lucario. Heal Pulse.”_ He whispered.

Sun fiddled with his pocket, his fingers slick and clumsy. _There’s no time for this!_ He thought, furious at himself. He finally got the revive out and slowly nursed Gladion’s Lucario back to health. His eyes snapped open and he leaped over to Gladion, meditating as a pink aura emanated from him and healed Gladion. He knew exactly what to do without Sun saying, just by sensing that Gladion’s aura was screaming in pain.

Gladion got back to his feet and Sun sat across from him as he did, looking into his eyes intently. He’d done the same for Sun, after all.

They healed their partners quickly and then started the lift.

As it started up, Sun felt something in the air he’d only ever felt twice before.

 _“Fuck.”_ He hissed.

“What?!” Shouted Gladion.

“I know what killed the Guzzlord…. What used Venoshock…”

“I thought it was Salazzle!”

“No! Nihilego is here…”

He heard the sound of the jellyfish-like creature before he saw them. He screamed louder than he ever had in his life. Gladion gasped and grabbed his hand.

“What?! Are they touching you?!” He asked, frazzled.

Sun’s breathing became shaky, and shallow, and everything around him seemed to blur, the colors all blending together like an oil painting. All sounds were muffled and then replaced by a loud ringing in his ears. The spot where Gladion’s hand touched his was the only part of his skin he could still feel.

 _“Sun!”_ Shouted the President, but the sound of his voice was distant and seemed worlds away.

Through the fog, Sun saw Gladion shove him onto the ground and turn to the Nihilego that must have been about to attack him, sending out his Lucario to smash the Rock-Type. The frail jellyfish fainted fairly quickly, their body falling to the floor - But there were more.

_Dozens._

Dozens of UB 01, perhaps a hundred, appeared at once around the elevator as it slowly, _agonizingly_ slowly, ascended into the Lobby. Gladion sent out all of his partners and instructed them to use their best judgement to defend against the beasts, and then turned to Sun. He fell by his side, resting his hands on Sun’s cheeks, and feeling returned there.

“Sun… _Sun…_ I know it’s hard, I know it’s scary, but you gotta do this for me. You gotta get up. I can’t do this without you. I need you. Your job is literally battling, if anyone can save me, it’s you. Please… Please!” He flung his arms around the blank-eyed, slack-jawed Champion, and warmth permeated the boy’s body.

 _This is real._ **_He_ ** _is real. That was all a long time ago. This is here, this is now, this is_ **_being alive,_ ** _and I’m not letting them take it. I’m not letting them take him._

Sun forced himself onto two feet, and as he did there was this _awful_ screaming that fucked with his ears, forced itself into them, knocked his brain around, and rattled his very spine. Every part of him burned. Something in his hindbrain was fighting back, telling him to _lie back down,_ because he couldn’t win against these things - But he disobeyed.

When his hearing and sight became normal again, he realized that _he’d_ been the one screaming.

He quickly sent out all six of his partners, and they got to work immediately.

They were executing commands with precision and guiding their teams to victory, but Gladion and Sun were mostly looking at each other. Sun knew why he was looking at Gladion, but he wasn’t quite sure why the President was looking at him.

As they made it to the Lobby, they saw the largest Ultra Wormhole Sun had ever seen - And from it came dozens more Nihilego, Buzzwole, and Pheromosa. Sun and Gladion soon realized that almost all of their partners had fainted, and the monsters were quickly closing in on them. The unbearably slow lift still had a long way to go. There were just _too many..._

When all hope seemed lost, Silvally let out a cry, and their head turned the color of gold, and then green, and then a white flash encompassed the room.

Sun and Gladion squinted, shielding their eyes, and watched in amazement as the very walls trembled, and fields of bright, golden energy came from the roaring beast. They kept coming, waves and waves of what must have been the very light of Arceus, hitting every one of their assailants and causing them to shimmer and shake, as if the Universe was unsure whether they existed or not. Every Ultra Beast in the room screamed and simply vanished. A weird sort of webbing appeared over the Wormhole. Silvally, exhausted, lay down on the lift and instantly passed out. It was almost like they had overexerted themself and gone into a coma. _Maybe they did,_ Thought Sun.

As the lift entered the Conservation Area and stopped, Sun cleared his throat.

“What the _fuck_ was that?” He asked.

Gladion shook his head. “I have no idea. I assume _that’s_ why Type: Full was meant to be a ‘Beastkiller.’ I always wondered what made them so apt to deal with Ultra Beasts, aside from the RKS System, which honestly didn’t seem like it was something specifically tailored for creatures from Ultra Space. It just seemed… Useful, in a general sense. Maybe they didn’t have enough energy to do it several times, though, so Mother decided they weren’t worth her time. Or maybe it required them to have a strong bond with their trainer, and Mother could never get that from a creature she tortured, so she deemed them useless. We may never know. I can ask Wicke, I guess. However, that webbing _definitely_ isn’t permanent - We still need to shut that, and fast.”

Sun nodded.

When they got to the Conservatory Floor, Gladion stepped off the lift in a purposeful manner and led Sun without words.

“Found this marked on a map in one of her research journals,” Gladion explained, moving away some leaves. Behind them were two spaces on the floor - One with the symbol of Solgaleo, and another with the symbol of Lunala. “Well, that’s just great. Whatever was on them is gone,” Said Gladion, letting his head fall in his hands.

But the symbols… Last time he’d seen them somewhere, he and Lillie had…

“Wait,” Said Sun. He pulled his necklace out from under his shirt and detached the Sun and Moon Flutes, handing the Sun Flute to Gladion.

“You kept these? You _wear_ these?”

“Yeah… They… They’re like good luck charms. They remind me of Lillie.”

Gladion snorted. “And you say it wasn’t ‘like that…’”

“It really wasn’t!” Sun exclaimed. “They also… Remind me of you. And Hau. And me. And Nebby. And the Captains. And Team Skull, who were good at heart, I think. It reminds me of us together. Of… You know, our little adventure. Because it was stressful back then, but looking back now it seems awesome. Memories are always tinted by the emotions we feel about the people we shared them with, regardless of whether they are of good times or bad times.”

Gladion’s lips were slightly parted and his eyes were pointed at the floor. “Wow,” He said. “You’re a poet, I guess.”

Sun laughed. “Look, we don’t have much time. Stand on that spot and blow Sun - Blow the Sun Flute.” If Gladion noticed his slip-up, he didn’t mention it.

They got into position, and Sun told him where to put his finger to produce the note that melded with Sun’s to create the harmony that controlled the Wormholes.

It sounded beautiful.

It was like two notes that were so different, but realized they were, in fact, very much the same, melded together to create something that was all of the good things from both and none of the bad things.

It was romantic, in a way.

And then, there was a great sound like a roaring waterfall, and then nothing.

Sun almost fell forward. When he caught himself, his nose was bleeding.

Gladion rushed over, concerned. “Apparently the space-time continuum is taking revenge on us because it doesn’t realize that we just fixed it… It’s just mad we changed it again,” He joked.

Sun laughed. “Could also have to do with me being a Faller - You know, I’ve been to Ultra Space before and I was soaked in the energy. Or my nose just likes bleeding… Who knows?”

They took the lift to the Lobby Level, smiling. It was all over now.

They healed and collected their partners, congratulating them.

“So, we just leave this place a fucking mess?” Asked Sun, grinning like a toddler.

Gladion smiled back - And it didn’t seem forced or overdone, it was soft, and gentle, and _sincere,_ and Sun loved it. “Yeah. One of the interns can fix it. I’m not…” He gestured at the whole room. “I’m not fucking dealing with this at five o’clock. Or… Ever, maybe.” He added, laughing.

“Pff, yeah, me neither.”

“Hey, it’s partially _your mess.”_

 _“Don’t start._ This is a battle you can’t win, friend.”

They walked out of the Paradise in silence, until Gladion placed a hand on Sun’s back. The Champion prayed he didn’t hear his gasp.

“Hey, you uh… Seeing good old Jelly in there kinda… Messed you up. You want me to ride home with you? I can take Charizard back here afterward.” He said, his voice calm and quiet.

Sun was dumbfounded - He hadn’t expected that at all. But.. It was certainly welcome…

“I - Uh… Yeah. I’d… I’d like that a lot, actually,” He said, grinning widely.

 

 


	4. Night Wind

The flight home was quiet. Calm.

The cool night wind gently kissed Sun’s skin, and the Moon, which looked brighter than Sun had ever seen it before, gently shone a bluish light onto the Earth.

The ocean shifted under the celestial body’s pull, moving back and forth, ever so slowly, to the rhythm of two trainers’ beating hearts.

Sun exhaled as Charizard took them home. Under normal circumstances, the fact that Gladion was sitting right behind him, his warm body pressed flush against Sun’s back in order to fit on the saddle, would have flustered or embarrassed him.

But not right now.

Sun was perfectly content just _being there,_ so close to someone he cared so much about, even if he didn’t feel the same way. Just _being there,_ under the spotlight of the Moon, with the cool night air caressing his face, was enough for Sun. He felt happy. He felt _free._

Gladion cleared his throat and, _damn him,_ ruined that perfect moment by reminding Sun that _Gladion_ was currently sitting _against_ him.

“Are you okay?”

The Question was so simple, and yet Gladion’s voice was so gentle and full of understanding and love when he said it, and something deep within Sun shook.

 _“No.”_ The answer was simple.

Tears fell slowly from Sun’s face as the wind, which had picked up in ferocity, abused it and blew them away.

“I’m sorry.” Replied Gladion. And despite being so general, despite not being at all specific, it _meant_ something, and Sun felt it.

He sighed. “I know.”

“If it makes you feel better, I’m not okay, either.”

“I know. And it doesn’t. I’m not a sadist.”

Sun giggled, and then bit his lip. “We’re never going to be okay, are we…”

For a moment, there were just the sounds of the wind and the water.

“No,” Said Gladion. “No. But that’s okay… Isn’t it?”

Sun sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s okay. But I’d never wish the… The _anything_ you’ve had to go through onto _anyone.”_

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t wish your pains onto anyone either. But, as long as we both have them anyway… I’m kind of…”

“Glad?”

“Yeah. I’m kind of glad.”

Sun nodded. “Me, too. I’m glad.” Sun waited for the wind to carry away his words, and then he spoke again. “But I don’t know what you mean by ‘my pains.’ I might have been dealt a bad hand by fate, but… Yours is worse. I’m so, so sorry you’ve had to suffer through all of this.”

Gladion cleared his throat. “Well… Maybe. But even so, yours aren’t less legitimate.”

“I guess not.”

Sun brought Charizard lower, so the sea sprayed his feet as they cut through the air.

“Hey, thanks for tonight. For… What you did. I might be dead if it weren’t for you.” Gladion’s voice was soft and whispery, like he was trying not to wake someone up.

“Yeah. No… No problem.”

“I wish I could have handled it myself, but I’ve never fought a Beast. I’d have had no idea what to do. Besides, you’re the Champion. You’re the very best. No one in the region is better, right?”

Sun went a little red and looked straight ahead, refusing to meet Gladion’s eyes as the corners of his mouth turned up a little. “Something like that.”

“Really, though. I wish I were better at battling, but, trust me, if you hadn’t been there I’d be dead right now. I’m sorry I had to involve you because I can’t clean up my own company’s messes…”

Sun shook his head. “Not your messes, though. They’re your mother’s messes, and I’m sorry they’re still coming back to haunt us. Still… I wonder… Why did you call me? Why not Interpol?”

“Yeah, that reminds me… You can’t say a single _word_ of this to anyone you wouldn’t trust with your _life._ I couldn’t involve Interpol because this _can’t get out._ If anyone knows that the Paradise is still a hotspot for Ultra Energy, the investors will pull out, Interpol will probably arrest me for not telling them and shut us down, and they’ll probably make you part of it, too… And… Er, yeah…” Gladion looked to the side, stammering slightly.

“I wouldn’t let that happen, you know,” Said Sun, cautiously, as if he were tiptoeing past a sleeping bear.

“That’s silly. They’d tell you to come with them when they arrested me and seized the Paradise, and if you didn’t come along, they’d probably punish you, too. I’m not an Alolan criminal - I’m an _international_ criminal. Hell, I’m a _universal_ criminal, since what happened tonight caused damage to the literal fabric of our world. Even a fucking _alien_ who hasn’t ever seen Earth would arrest me.”

“Well… Technically, I’m legally allowed to stop International Police from entering the country if I believe their activities pose a threat to my people’s safety. It only lasts for a couple weeks, after which I have to prove it _in court_ if I want it to keep going, and I won’t be able to argue that case, so… That wouldn’t help much. But it’d buy you time to get out of here, I bet. New region, new identity. Besides, I can always just put my foot down and say ‘no.’ Honestly, if they try to remove me from my office, all of the Kahunas and Captains are going to be giving them shit for it. They know that. They wouldn’t dare remove me, because they know it would decrease Alola’s trust of them by a shit ton.”

“Wow… You’ve really thought this through.”

Sun blushed. “Nah, not really. Before tonight, I didn’t even _know_ you had this shitshow brewing inside the Paradise, remember?”

Gladion looked around nervously. “Huh… Interesting. You really know your place in international affairs, I guess. I’m… Impressed.”

The Champion snorted. “What, you didn’t think I’d considered the possibility that I’d be a fugitive someday?”

Gladion chuckled. “Actually, no, I didn’t.”

“Well, then that’s _your_ problem.”

Gladion laughed - This time, not a chuckle, not a snort, but a _laugh._ Sun still heard it so rarely. His ears grabbed onto the sound, knocked it around inside his brain, and allowed it to sink deep into his mind. He would still be able to hear that sound as he fell asleep that night.

“So… Uh… Thanks, Sun. You… You didn’t let me say that. You never let people thank you, because you’re just too modest for your own good. But… It’s kind of cute, I guess.”

And, in that moment, something _burst,_ some little balloon in Sun’s heart... Not just _burst,_ but positively _exploded,_ filling him with warmth and joy.

“Sorry about that,” He said, voice quavering. “Thanks for saying thanks.”

“Y-Yeah… No problem,” Said Gladion, stuttering a little.

The rest of the ride passed in silence, the cool breeze serving as the only thing that kept Sun from overheating and exploding.

 

* * *

 

When they touched down by Sun’s house, Sun hopped off the great dragon, and turned to look back at Gladion.

They both smiled, eyes filled with mirth. “Bye, Sun.” He said.

“Bye, Gladion.”

Sun held eye contact for just a _second_ longer than was necessary, but he still saw a faint pink hue dust Gladion’s cheeks. He turned and walked towards the house.

He walked up the porch steps and, just before he opened the door, he heard a _thump._

 _“Wait,”_ Whispered Gladion, as he dropped from Charizard’s back.

Sun froze on the spot. There was a strange energy crackling in the air. _This is it,_ He thought. He knew it. He could feel it in his bones.

He turned slowly and came face-to-face with Gladion, who had walked up the porch steps and stopped just behind him. Now, their noses were practically touching.

Gladion’s hot breath hit his face and mixed in with his own panting, creating a dizzying cocktail of heat, lust, desire, and hunger.

Sun bowed his head, a million thoughts flashing through his mind. Was it just him being optimistic, or was something really about to happen? He didn’t know, but he wanted to find out.

He somehow found the courage to tilt his head up and look at Gladion with wide, soulful, _starving_ eyes and slightly parted lips. His cheeks were burning, almost the color of blood, and his heart was hammering in his chest as fast as it had during the earlier fight. His eyes held a look of innocence, somehow mixed in with hunger.

Gladion’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, his own cheeks a deep fuschia. He slowly brought his right hand up and placed it softly on Sun’s face. Electricity and fire shot from his hand into Sun’s skin, lighting up every nerve ending and sending waves of pleasure throughout his entire body. Sun gasped quietly as Gladion placed his other hand on Sun’s thigh.

Gladion looked into his eyes with so much passion for just a second longer, and then leaned in, _agonizingly_ slowly, until their lips finally made contact.

Fireworks shot off inside Sun’s heart. He made a startled gasp that, much to Sun’s dismay, included more power than he’d intended and sounded slightly _sultry._ His lips felt like they’d touched a wet electrical wire. Every inch of his body suddenly heated up by what felt like 100 degrees, every nerve exploded with fire and color, and a lightning bolt shot through his brain.

He would have been thinking about how amazing it was that Gladion felt the same way, that somebody actually cared about him like that, that what he’d waited for for so long was finally happening - But he couldn’t even _think._ His brain was utterly fried. Every part of him, from the tiniest of cells to his entire brain, was thrumming with the energy of that kiss, and he couldn’t think about anything but that.

In fact, he could barely think of _that_ without going weak at the knees and passing out.

The kiss was tender and soft, and Sun didn’t really understand why it felt so amazing. Neither party was doing any more pushing than the bare minimum to be considered a kiss, neither’s mouth was open, Gladion’s hands hadn’t moved. It shouldn’t have felt so _perfect_ to Sun, but somehow, it did.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Gladion gently pulled away from him, but his hands remained affixed to Sun.

“Sorry,” He choked out. “I - I should have asked… Was that… Was that okay - With you, I mean, I didn’t mean was _it_ okay, ahem, aha…” He broke off and looked away, adding a nervous laugh to his ramblings.

Sun couldn’t even begin to form words. _Is it okay with me?!_ He thought. _Gladion, are you insane?!_

“I… Uh… Yeah. It was okay... With me, that is. Not the kiss itself. That was _perfect.”_ He wasn’t sure why he’d added the last bit, but it made his whole body shake just to say it. He tried to collect himself, and added a wink. _If Gladion’s going embarrass me this much… I’m going to have a fucking field day,_ He thought.

Gladion actually _gasped,_ and his face went white, before taking on a deep red. “O-Oh? That’s… That’s good, I guess…”

They avoided eye contact for a moment, but since Gladion didn’t remove his hands, Sun found himself staring at Gladion again, and Gladion couldn’t help but find Sun’s eyes again, too.

They looked at each other for a tense moment, Gladion and Sun both relishing in how flustered, embarrassed, happy, and _alive_ they both looked, and then that moment ended very suddenly when they silently agreed that it was time for more.

Gladion leaned in towards Sun’s face quickly, and this time Sun had already been to the rodeo once and was ready. He tipped his chin up and almost jumped to Gladion, their lips meeting as stars danced in Sun’s vision. It was too much, too fast.

There was slightly more pressure, more _force_ behind Gladion’s lips this time, but with the same gentle, caring nature as before. Sun smiled into the kiss, just allowing the emotions of the moment to wash over him like a tide stronger than any ocean on the Earth.

And then Gladion did the unthinkable - He broke away from Sun’s lips, and set his own lips on Sun’s neck, swiping his tongue across the skin once.

It wasn’t even that euphoric, but it caught Sun so off guard that he made a particularly embarrassing noise and, much to his dismay, instinctively bucked his hips. For the briefest of moments, Sun’s body was pressed flush against Gladion’s, and lightning shot through his entire being.

Sun nearly cracked his back against the wall as he forced himself back against it, hunger, embarrassment, anger at himself, guilt, shame, and _heat_ pooling in his gut.

Gladion had gone still.

The Champion bit his lip. “Fuck... I, uh… S-Sorry… About that, I didn’t _mean -_ I wasn’t - I wasn’t _asking_ f-for, I just, it happened…”

Gladion pulled away slowly, cheeks ablaze. “That’s okay. It happens, I get it, it’s okay. I’m gonna, uh… Go… Now. You - You okay?’

Sun cursed himself in his head. “Yeah. Uh... I’m fine now. Thanks for… For coming back with me and everything.” _Oh, god damn it, why’d you have to say that last part?_ He thought.

“Yeah. Yeah. No problem. Thanks for all the help at the VLFS.”

“No problem,” Sun whispered quietly, as a million screams echoed in his head.

“Okay, well… Goodnight, Sun, I’ll see you… Um… Later.”

“Right. Goodnight, Gladion. Maybe you, Hau, and I can do something sometime soon?”

“Uh - Um, yeah. M-maybe…”

And then Gladion jumped on Charizard and left.

The orange dragon was gone within a few seconds, leaving Sun on his doorstep, frustrated, shivering in the night wind, _hot,_ and stewing in self-hatred.

“... _Fuck_ me…” He sighed deeply.

And then, he walked into his house, barely bothering to walk quietly and not wake his mother.

When he got into his bedroom, he shut the door and leaned back against it, sliding down it until he hit the floor.

He almost wanted to cry, because he’d probably gave Gladion the impression that he was the kind of creep who’d want to take things to their highest level literally the second he’d been kissed by someone. He’d probably burned that bridge before it’d even been built.

 _God, it would have been a beautiful bridge. It’s a shame I set that fire, because I can’t put it out now,_ He thought.

Shame, anger, and guilt were moving up his throat slowly, sitting uncomfortably at the back of his mouth, refusing to go one way or the other.

It hurt so badly because it was _his fault._ He’d probably fucked things up for good and it was _his fault._

Tears, however, did not come. He _wanted_ to cry, wanted to sob, and scream, and shriek until his lungs gave out and his eyes dried up, but he just felt… _Bad._ There was no other word. He just felt so… _Awful._ So awful that he simply couldn’t cry. He had gone past that point.

He got ready for bed slowly and then resigned to a sleepless night. As he did so, there was a certain _longing_ in the back of his brain, an annoying voice that was yelling at him and _demanding_ he do as it pleased. The fact that he _still_ felt this way even after how wrong it’d gone, and how much those instincts had cost him, made him feel even more shame. He was furious at himself for it.

Several times throughout the night, he dropped into a dreamless sleep that, judging by his clock, only lasted anywhere from 5 minutes to 20. He then woke up in a cold sweat, short of breath and panting, the voice  _screaming_ into his head.

Most of the night though, he just laid in bed, constantly too hot, no matter how many blankets (or clothes) he threw off the bed. He was normally freezing cold at night, and rarely slept without clothes on. Tonight, however… He’d ditched almost everything a long time ago and _still_ didn’t feel quite right. Perhaps if he listened to the voice, he wouldn’t feel so hot, wouldn’t feel so sick, but… That wouldn’t be right. He didn’t even think he should feel that way after a disaster like that. Even so, his frustration remained with him all night, equal parts shame, anger, arousal, and anxiety. He felt so _wrong._ It was like there were strings attached to each part of his body, and someone was pulling on them tautly, so that all of his muscles were constantly stretched and sore. His whole body shook. The entire experience made him realize just how little control he had over his body - Not that he had much more control over his emotions.

 


	5. Alone Again

 

Morning came much too quickly. After a cold shower that lasted long enough that Sun’s mother started complaining about his wastefulness, Sun got dressed and went to meet Hau for malasadas. Of all of the dynamic elements to Sun’s life, Hau was the one thing he could count on. Their friendship was static. Whenever he needed someone to go eat awful things that were awful for him with, Hau was there. It was kind of pleasant.

Sun went to the League much later in the day than he was supposed to, but nobody said anything. Probably because it looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks.

Which, honestly, wasn’t far from the truth. He’d been kept up all night by his own mind the other night, and the reason it felt so awful was because he was out of control. However, plenty of times, he had stayed up all night working on something, it just never bothered him because it was a choice he had made.

The day was slow and not many challengers came. It left a lot of time for Sun to just sit and think… Or fall asleep on the throne without realizing.

 

* * *

 

Days turned to weeks, and eventually weeks turned to a month.

Simply texting Gladion after what had happened didn’t feel right, Sun had to apologize in person - But that didn’t exactly work when Gladion stopped contacting him or coming to challenge him. Eventually, Sun decided to check Aether Paradise. He could wait no longer.

He was surprised at how few employees came into work on a Saturday. A ghostly silence hung over the white building, like a thick fog, that veiled the Paradise in mystic secrecy. On this particular morning, a literal fog was present, too. It shrouded the already mysterious artificial island in an almost holy looking manifestation of water vapor.

Sun’s shoes echoed loudly on the polished marble floors of the pristine Paradise, his eyes darting around as they nervously searched for a soul, someone to tell him he didn’t have the proper clearance to be where he was.

He’d already poked his head into the mansion, but when Gladion hadn’t answered his shouts, he’d given up… It was too creepy in there. He decided to look in some of the more… _Restricted_ sections of Aether. Eventually, he found Gladion’s office, which was situated on Floor 4 - The floor reserved for only the highest-up of higher-ups. The elevator required a keycard to take anyone that high, but fortunately Sun had been provided one when he became Champion. Sun had come to the conclusion that the League was _extremely_ afraid of a second Aether mishap.

He knocked on the door to the President’s office and, to his surprise, Gladion answered. The door swung up, and Sun was greeted with something horrifying.

Gladion’s face was pale - Paler than it normally was, even, which was saying something. His hair was mussed, his eyes crusty, with purplish-black bags under them. He held a box of painkillers in his hand. His mouth was pulled into a tight frown, but when he saw Sun his eyes, which had previously been dull, lit up slightly. He smiled, but not as much as Sun had hoped.

“Hey, you,” He said, his voice meek and quiet.

“Gladion!” Shouted Sun. “What _happened?”_

Gladion rolled his eyes. “You look just as bad. If not _worse.”_

“I - _Really?_ I guess I have been working a lot of long hours…”

Gladion made a fake pity-face. “Sun, I don’t know how to say this, but…” He said, his voice full of sadness. “You look like shit.”

At first Sun was offended, but when he saw how Gladion’s eyes were shining, he burst out laughing.

“Get in here,” Said Gladion, his voice full of energy.

He grabbed Sun’s jacket and yanked him into the office. Sun let out a startled yell that turned into a fit of giggles as Sun shut the door. Gladion grabbed a spray bottle on his desk and Sun’s face was suddenly wet.

“You gotta pull yourself together!” He shouted at Sun. “You’re the Champion! You’re a god damn Alolan treasure! You need to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get out there!”

Sun could barely breathe. “What the… _Fuck_ are you doing?”

Gladion smiled awkwardly. “I’m… Being motivational?”

“ _Pfft,_ no, you’re not! The fuck is up with the spray bottle, anyway?”

Gladion blushed and pointed to a pot with some plants in it. “It’s for watering my succulents… Y’know, like cacti…”

Sun grinned. “Oh my god, who has a cactus garden in a pot? _Who but you?”_

Gladion rolled his eyes. “It’s nice! Because if you forget to water them it’s not that big of a deal. Besides, they’re not even all cacti.”

“Are you a botany nerd?”

“Eh…” Said Gladion, looking to the side and smiling a little. “Maybe a little. You should try succulents. I know your type - You don’t keep plants because you’re worried you’ll forget to water them. But you’d be happy if you _did_ have plants, and with succulents you can forget every now and again. You should try it.”

Sun raised an eyebrow. “You _know_ my _type?”_

Gladion laughed. “No, I don’t. Actually… I don’t… Know about… _That,_ so like… I dunno if you wanna maybe - _Talk?_ About? What happened? Umm…”

Sun chewed on his cheek. “You look like shit, Gladion.”

They shared a laugh and then Sun started again, more serious this time. “Really though, I think you need help here. I’m going to help you, alright? You’re clearly in over your head.”

Gladion put his hands on his hips. “Not true! I can handle this myself.”

 _Well, I dodged a bullet there. Thank goodness he’s easy to distract..._ The Champion narrowed his eyes. “You’re going to fucking die if you go on like this. I can’t have you dying, I’ll be a prime suspect in the murder of an international figure.”

“Well, you look worse!”

“Exactly! And if I pretend I’m helping you resolve some kind of Aether business deal, and act like it’ll make the Alolan economy go crazy, then I have an excuse to _not_ be doing my work! Here’s the thing, the two of us have a constant stream of work. Neither of us will ever be done. And it comes at a rate that would take, like, _four fucking people_ to handle. Both of us are gonna die. But, if I _help_ you, then we’re only doing two people’s work each. _Meaning,_ we’ll get a whole half of the sleep the average person our age as opposed to a fourth of it! And half of the sleep the average person our age gets is like a whole half of the amount of sleep we need! It’ll be brilliant! We’ll be running on a fourth of sleep instead of an _eighth._ And we can definitely handle a fourth. We can bring it! What do you think?”

“Don’t you have work _you_ need to do?”

Sun shrugged. “As I said, mine comes in a constant stream. And, frankly, Kukui’s already said that if I ever need to go… ‘Be a kid,’ I think is how he described it, that he would take over for me and help the Elite Four take care of things. Besides, it’s only for a week or so.”

“So… In this context, ‘be a kid’ means helping your friend run a company. That _definitely_ sounds like something a kid would do in their free time.”

Sun laughed loudly. “Yeah, that’s right. Don’t fuckin’ insult the decisions I’m making for my childhood,” He said, which earned a chuckle from the Aether President. “And after these couple weeks when I help you, one of us should take a vacation or something... “

“Yeah, fine, we’ll take a vacation,” Gladion said, smiling slightly.

 _What the fuck,_ we _will take a vacation? Who is_ we? _Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck,_ Sun’s mind screamed.

“So… What about me helping you here at Aether? Yay or nay?”

Gladion thought for a moment. “Okay,” He said, grinning at Sun.

_“Okay?”_

Aether’s President nodded. “Yeah. _Okay._ That’ll be… Nice. It gets lonely in here on Saturdays, anyways.”

Gladion’s smile was infectious, and his eyes shone like the most dazzlingly beautiful emeralds Sun had ever seen.

 

* * *

 

 

Gladion delegated Sun to make a few calls on his behalf, and take some notes.

He agreed, but was a little sad that they wouldn’t be in the same room. He was glad to avoid the awkward conversation that was bound to occur at some point, but was disappointed that he couldn’t be close to his… Whatever the two were at that point.

All of the notes he took were full of strange words related to Pokemon biology and subspecies and all sorts of terminology that Sun couldn’t even begin to understand. Some of the callers thought it was a little bit strange that the Alolan Champion was calling on the Aether President’s behalf, but they always just believed that it was standard operating procedure if he rambled on about the Alolan Government sponsoring Aether’s conservation efforts and trying to assist them as closely as possible.

Honestly, it was kind of nice to be doing someone else’s work - To be just an employee, a subordinate; doing tasks without really understanding their larger importance. There was a sort of comfort in it.

The day passed quicker than Sun had thought it would, and before long Gladion was knocking on the door to the break room he’d been doing his work in.

“Hey,” he said when Sun opened the door. He looked much worse than he had earlier. “You get everything done?”

Sun nodded. “Yep, it’s all taken care of. How was _your_ day, then?”

Gladion shrugged. “I kind of finished - In a way. But there’s always more work coming my way, so it doesn’t really matter.”

“Right.”

“You can go home now, if you want.”

“Well, how do I know you won’t stay here for another three hours?”

Gladion’s shoulders sagged. “Shit, I guess you’ve got me figured out.”

The Champion sighed. “Come here,” He said, grabbing Gladion’s wrist and dragging him towards the elevator.

“The fuck are you doing?!” Exclaimed Gladion.

“I’m _helping_ you. And in… I dunno, _twenty years, maybe,_ you’ll thank me.”

“But if I came to the League and tried to get you to stop working before you felt done, you’d have even more of a fit than I am!”

Sun bit his lip and thought for a second as the elevator descended to the ground floor.

“That,” He said, “Is an accurate assessment.”

Sun dragged Gladion all the way to the Aether house and led him inside before he let go. It had definitely occurred to him that Gladion was strong enough that he could have gotten away from Sun if he’d really wanted to - But, he hadn’t, so clearly he _didn’t._

“Well,” He shouted into the building, his voice echoing. “I’m just going to stand by the door until you go to bed…”

Gladion’s face turned pink. “You won’t know I’ve gone to bed unless you come upstairs…”

Sun swallowed. “No, that’s right. I can trust you, though.”

Gladion looked almost disappointed. Sun, however, swallowed his choice with bittersweet contentment - He wasn’t happy about it, but he knew he had to stand his ground and make up for what he’d done. He didn’t want to make Gladion feel like he expected that from him.

“Okay, well… Thanks for all the help today.”

“No problem!” Sun chirped. When Gladion was about halfway up the steps, he stopped him. “Hey, Gladion…?”

Gladion’s feet held still. “Yes?”

Sun cleared his throat, unsure of how to phrase this. “Are we… Cool?”

Gladion licked his lips. “Yeah. Yeah, I think so.”

“Okay. Goodnight, Gladion.”

“Goodnight, Sun.”

And then, Sun went home and tried to go to bed himself, but found that the beautiful music in his head made it impossible.

 

* * *

 

Two weeks passed.

Two weeks, and Sun hadn’t heard anything from Gladion.

So, on Saturday, he hopped onto Charizard’s back and flew to the VLFS, hoping to help Gladion again.

When he found Gladion in his office, he almost wanted to slap him.

“Jesus Christ!” He shouted. “You look _awful!”_

Gladion’s face was thinner and bonier than usual, and a good deal paler.  He was skinny - Not just Gladion-skinny, but so skinny it looked like he’d stopped eating. His eyelids were droopy, and the dark circles under them went a good few inches past the bottom of his eyes. They were unfocused, red, and bleary.

“Thanks,” He said, dryly. “And you look a million times better.”

Sun chewed on the inside of his cheek. “Fuck’s sake, I wasn’t trying to be mean. Just… You need to sleep. Right now, actually.”

Gladion shook his head. “Can’t,” He rasped, his voice hoarse.

“Are you getting a cold now?”

“No. Just… I’ve been leading a lot of meetings lately. Not good for my throat. I can’t sleep because there’s still _work to be done._ God, so much fucking _work.”_

“I don’t care - You look like you’re going to keel over and _die._ I need you to go to bed.”

“I _can’t._ This is the busiest week I’ve had since becoming President. The Unovan Pokémon Defense League is accusing us of having kept an extraterrestrial entity, and meanwhile I’m trying to get a grant from the Hoenn Government and keep them from finding out.”

Sun furrowed his brow. “Finding out? What, did you _actually_ keep an extraterrestrial entity? I assumed you meant they were bullshitting everyone.”

Gladion sighed and rubbed his face. “If they were _bullshitting everyone,_ it would be a hell of a lot easier to dodge the bullet. But… The Cosmog…”

“Oh, god damn it! They’re technically Ultra Beasts, aren’t they…” Exclaimed Sun, exasperated. “I totally forgot I’d given them to you.”

 _“Probably_ on account of the fact that it was before we were friends, and so you just gave them to Wicke as soon as you found them. I don’t even really remember it, either. I just recently said the same thing you said to me to Wicke, and she reminded me that we’ve got a Cosmog in our possession right now. But, the thing is, we haven’t been treating them badly - Our employees entertain them every day, and we don’t perform any tests on them, except for some bloodwork every once in a while to make sure they’re healthy. Nothing like what Mother did. The problem is, though, if they find out we even check the creature’s blood just to make sure they aren’t _deathly sick,_ they’ll twist those words to make it sound like we’re testing their blood for Ultra Energy or Wormhole-opening-capabilities or something.”

“Wow…” Whispered Sun. “I really fucked you, didn’t I…?”

Gladion smiled. “Yeah, a little. But you couldn’t have predicted this. No one could have.”

“Hey, I’ll make you a deal. Just like last time, I’ll go in that little break room and do work for you, and then at the end of the day we’ll be… Uhh, ‘sleep accountability buddies,’ I guess,” He said, making air quotes.

Gladion rolled his eyes and snorted. “Fine. I’ll go to bed at a _reasonable_ time tonight. But not until I at least get some work done. This time though, we’re both going to make a few phone calls for a couple of hours, but after that you can come in here and do some paperwork with me. Keep me from dying of boredom, or… Y’know… Falling asleep, or whatever.” He smiled at Sun.

“Okay, then.”

 

* * *

  

For most of Sun’s phone calls, he was stuck defending the President. He was forced to talk all about how honest, intelligent, morally superior, and compassionate Gladion was. He chose to leave out the parts about how good-looking he was.

When he finished the phone calls, he had to fill out all sorts of forms detailing Aether’s treatment of the Cosmog. He was given access to Aether’s database in order to find the test reports.

The work was mostly menial, but was very tedious and time-consuming. While it was boring, it was more pleasant than the phone calls, because he got to be in the same room as Gladion. It wasn’t much, but it was still pleasant.

The day passed quickly, with Sun choosing to not talk to Gladion for most of it. He wanted him to get as much done as possible, so he’d be more likely to go back to the mansion on the VLFS and get some sleep.

When it was 5 o’clock, Sun cleared his throat. “Gladion… It’s five. This is when _normal_ people stop working…”

Gladion turned to him and smiled. “You don’t.”

“Well, I didn’t say I was normal. Seriously, I know it seems early, but you should really just go to bed as soon as your body will let you. You’re probably going to get up at five AM anyway, so… Jesus, get to bed as soon as you eat dinner.”

Gladion narrowed his eyes slightly. “Do you have dinner plans?”

“No,” Said Sun, blush blooming on his cheeks. “I don’t.”

“You _didn’t,”_ Corrected Gladion, grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the office. “But you sure as hell do now.”

 

* * *

 

Gladion was, it turned out, an _excellent_ cook.

Sun supposed that it made sense - He couldn’t really imagine Lusamine cooking for them, so once Mohn had died, the boy had probably been forced to learn to prepare food. Otherwise, he and his sister would have gone hungry.

Upon being questioned about what he wanted, Sun had insisted that he had no preference, but Gladion eventually forced him to admit that he loved pasta. One thing had led to another, and now he was eating noodles in the Aether house.

It was a simple meal, but Gladion had insisted on filling the meal with all sorts of herbs and spices, which made it more flavorful than any homemade pasta dish Sun had ever had.

He was kind of cute when he cooked: Always yammering on about different flavors and herbs, chopping them up, trying to make small talk while water boiled.

They didn’t talk much during the meal, but they kept catching the other’s eye and smiling, before looking at the floor awkwardly.

When it was over, Sun and Gladion walked towards the door and Gladion opened it for him. “Thanks for all the help today. And uh… Thanks for pretending to like the boring noodles.”

Sun laughed. “I didn’t think they were boring. I don’t really think any food is boring. I kind of like mild things… Too much flavor is bad for you, according to WebMD.”

Gladion laughed and his eyes shone like a silver lake.

“Hey, do you think your workload will always be this bad?”

“Yeah, it’s not going to get better…”

“Well, then I’m coming here every Saturday.”

“What? You’re way too busy.” Chided Gladion.

“You know what? Fuck it. I’d rather be here, anyways.”

Gladion smiled widely. “Goodnight, Sun.”

“Goodnight, Gladion.”

 

* * *

 

Every Saturday soon turned to every Sunday, as the winds of Fall began to grace the Islands.

The temperature didn’t get that cold in Alola, but a change in the air was definitely noticeable when the seasons shifted.

Gladion didn’t look much better. He didn’t look _worse,_ which was a plus. It reminded Sun that what he was doing was worthwhile. Still though, he looked just as bad as he had a month ago.

“I want to work here during the week, too,” Sun had mentioned one day. “Maybe… Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.”

Gladion had bit his lip. “You can’t. You’re already sacrificing too much for me. You’ve got to be busy.”

“That can wait,” Said Sun. “The Elite Four is happy to have something to do, anyway. Normally, they don’t have much work.”

Gladion thought for a moment. “Fine,” He said. “But, every week, I want an update on what’s going on with your work. And if I decide you’ve got too much going on, you have to do what I say when I tell you to do your own job. Is that okay?”

“Yes,” Lied Sun.

“And you won’t lie to me about how much you’ve got going on, correct?”

“Yes,” Lied Sun.

“You’re lying to me, aren’t you…?”

“Yes!” Sun exclaimed, grinning.

Gladion shook his head. “What will I do with you…”

“Whatever you want! Starting now, I’m here 5 days a week, and I’ll do whatever work you need done.”

The President smiled. “It isn’t that simple. If you’ll be here that often, we need to get you a title and actually have you on the books somewhere… I’ll schedule a meeting with Wicke.”

That was how Sun had found himself alone in a room with the woman, who had been promoted to Branch Chief of Aether after Lusamine left for Kanto and Faba was demoted. As the two tried to make small talk, Sun learned that there had actually been an entire restructuring of the corporate ladder after Lusamine’s plans had been foiled. Some of the more elite members who had known about her… _Immoral_ activities and still allowed them to go on, like Faba, had either been fired or demoted to a much lower position. The only reason Wicke was promoted was because she only knew about a fraction of Lusamine’s schemes, and she only let them go on because she knew she had to keep her job so she could keep the children safe.

“So, he wants to make you Assistant President?” She asked.

“I - I _think_ that’s what he said?” Responded Sun.

“Yes, well… That’ll be interesting. We haven’t had an Assistant President since the kids’ father. A lot of people assume he was the President, but since the Foundation is primarily a conservation venture, Miss Lusamine was actually more qualified to be the CEO. Mohn’s work with Quantum Physics and Extraterrestrial Biology was more of a… _Side project._ A side project that - tragically, of course - became Aether’s main focus after Mohn’s disappearance.”

There was silence for a moment.

“Thank you for Ultra Space.” She said.

“Oh, well, no problem. I… I did it for Lillie and Gladion, mostly. It didn’t even occur to me at the time that the fate of the Universe hung in the balance… I still can’t believe it. I swear, it was only chance that I was the one to be there at that moment. It could have been you, even! All random…”

Wicke shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe you weren’t _destined_ to be the one to do that, or anything. But you still did it. And, more importantly, you did it in a way that saved Miss Lusamine.”

“Well, I didn’t _kill_ her. I don’t know if I’d say that I _saved_ her, though. You’re correct, though, I guess. Once she fused with that Nihilego, it would have been easier to just kill the whole thing than to separate them. But, you know… I wanted to give her a chance to be better, and I wanted Lillie and Gladion to get a chance to give _her_ a second chance.”

Wicke adjusted her hair, blushing slightly. “Well, I would have missed her if she had died.”

“I’m sure.” It was all Sun could say.

“She really _was_ different, you know. Very compassionate, and… She was different. Very, very different, before he vanished.”

Sun nodded.

After a few more minutes of silence, she spoke up. “I don’t mean to make this awkward, but let’s just get this out of the way: All of the employees here think you two are in love, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Sun’s face lit up. “Do _you_ think that?”

Wicke smiled. “I’m not blind.”

The Champion looked to the side.

“Anyways, I’m saying, it’ll only be a matter of time until people figure out about your little… _Arrangement_ here. And, if I know one thing about the Alolan public, it’s that they like celebrity drama. So, be prepared to be constantly bombarded with questions about your romantic life in future interviews you do. Just warning you now. I mean, what would the public love more than the son of the woman who almost tore the fabric of the Universe apart, starting with Alola, because she was obsessed with space Jellyfish - Dating Alola’s first League Champion? And it’s two young men as well? My _god,_ you’ll have some nastiness to deal with. Both adoring fans, mostly teenage girls, who fetishize you and have posters of you in their rooms, as well as some protesters who say that your relationship will open the gates to Hell and/or Ultra Space right in Alola’s sky? Have fun with _that…”_

Sun shrugged. “They’d start thinking things eventually, anyway - May as well happen now.”

Wicke nodded. “Very wise.”

Gladion finally made it to the room they were in at that point, setting his briefcase down on the desk and pulling a pen out of his pocket.

“Sorry I’m late,” He said, clicking the ballpoint. “Where do I sign?”

“Here,” Pointed Wicke.

Gladion let his elegant script grace the page, and then all of the signature lines had been filled in.

Wicke held out a hand for Sun to shake and smiled. “Welcome to the team, Champion.”

 


	6. Together

Things continued as they were for a while.

Everything set into a sort of rhythm for Sun - Mondays, he was with Gladion, mostly making phone calls; and Tuesdays he went to the League and did paperwork and sat through meetings; Wednesdays were spent at Aether filling out more paperwork; Thursdays became the only day Sun accepted challengers at the League; and Fridays he was in charge of running tests to determine the Ultra Energy readings around the Paradise and the stability of the recently closed Ultra Wormholes on the VLFS.

Saturdays were spent analyzing the data with Gladion, and determining whether anything needed to be changed to lower the Ultra Energy levels. Sundays, they tried to implement solutions to these problems. If there were none, Sun would insist Gladion take the day off to relax, and sometimes he would spend it with him, watching sitcoms in the Aether Mansion to take their minds off of work.

Things were hectic - _Extremely hectic._ But… There was something _magical_ and _calm_ to it. Sun could always count on seeing Gladion, and even on the days when he only saw him for a few hours, he could take comfort in knowing that the boring jobs he was doing for Aether were saving Gladion’s life… Because, well…

Gladion was looking worse.

A _lot_ worse.

His face was deathly white, save for his eyes - Blood-red around the rims, blood vessels visible, and surrounded by a black shadow of bumps. His eyelids were crusty and droopy, and he could barely stay awake. He looked thinner than even his mother, and he seldom ate. His voice was hoarse, and he didn’t talk much at all. He only smiled a few times each day.

And, one quiet Saturday evening, Gladion said he was going to the basement to check on some data from some of Cosmog’s bloodwork. He said he’d only be 10 minutes.

When Gladion had been gone for a half hour, Sun decided he must have been struggling with _something,_ and went to go find him. Even though he knew Gladion could handle himself, he would take any excuse he could get to spend time with him.

When he got into the basement, he saw the lights on in one of the Secret Labs, and pushed open the door.

Gladion was standing next to a table with his sleeve rolled up and a kitchen knife in his hand.

Sun _screamed -_ Not yelled, not shouted, but _screamed,_ because he’d never been more terrified in his _life._ This was _good for him._ This was something in his life that was having an _incredibly_ positive impact on his emotional health. This was someone who cared so much about him and made him feel so good about himself, and fate just _couldn’t_ take that away from him. It just wasn’t fair.

On the less selfish side of the coin, Sun loved him. He knew it sounded silly, he knew that most his age didn’t really understand love, and threw the word around like it didn’t mean anything but sex and complements, but Sun knew he really _loved_ Gladion. He wanted to spend time with him, just to talk to him, to work with him all day, and laugh with him all evening, and he felt like their personalities went well together. He loved being with Gladion, and loved making him _happy,_ and loved being made happy by him. He trusted him. He genuinely enjoyed being around him, even if they weren’t talking. Above all, he wanted to be with him all the time, wanted to share the _experiences of life_ with him, and whenever Sun heard a funny joke and Gladion wasn’t around, he always wished they could have spent that moment together. That was love in Sun’s mind, and he loved the Aether President.

He practically tackled Gladion, grabbing the knife as he pushed him against the table. He threw it across the room and wrapped his arms tightly around Gladion, who was startled by the suddenness of it all and lost his footing, sending them falling to the ground. Gladion and Sun ended up sitting on their knees, with Sun’s arms still around Gladion’s neck like a boa constrictor. He pressed his head into Gladion’s chest, and before he knew it he was a sobbing mess, clutching desperately at the President’s shirt, like he was hanging on for dear life. He was never going to let go.

“I’m sorry,” Gladion said, his voice small.

Sun went rigid. “That’s not - Don’t be sorry…” He was choking on air, gasping between words as the tears streamed down his face. “You didn’t do it to hurt me…”

“But I’m sorry you had to walk in on it…”

Sun was quiet for a moment. “I wish I hadn’t walked in on it, too. You… Fuck, you scared the _shit_ out of me. What the _fuck_ would I do without you?!”

Gladion was stiff in his hands. No response.

 _“God,_ I know that sounds selfish as _shit,_ but I’d be a fucking _mess_ without you. And that _shouldn’t_ sound selfish, because I’m not saying I’d be a mess without you because I use you to get out of my League duties, or I like that I get to feel self-righteous by helping you, or whatever. I’m saying that because I care about you so _goddamn_ much, and if you weren’t here, I don’t know how I’d ever forgive myself for letting that happen, how I’d _ever_ move on from you, how I could _ever_ stop fucking thinking about you and what my life would be like if you were there to share it with me.”

Sun could see the bottom of Gladion’s neck. It turned a slightly pinkish hue.

“You had no reason to worry. I’ve done this before.”

Sun had thought nothing could have broken him more than finding Gladion like this, but something about that statement, his casual, off-hand nature as he said it, the implications, it took the rubble of Sun’s broken heart and threw pieces of it at him.

They were sharp, and they stung.

He started sobbing again. “How does that make me feel better?! That gives me _more_ to worry about!”

“I’ve _done_ this _before,_ so I know what I’m _doing,_ and nothing’s going to go wrong.” There was a hint of annoyance in his voice.

“I… Okay, but I didn’t know at the time… I just… Walked in and saw… _This..._ ”

“I _needed_ this.”

 _Why are you trying to start a fight,_ Sun thought. “I… Couldn’t you have just told me you felt awful? We would have worked something out where you worked less or something!... We would have found a solution that wasn’t _this.”_

“I can’t stop _fucking working!_ I can’t stop! It keeps coming, and it _keeps coming,_ and I can’t quit! There’d just be a crisis when I came back! _Unlike you,_ I can’t get other people to do my work for me!”

 _“Fuck_ off! I cut back on my hours because I wanted to _help_ you! I gave up part of my salary and forced the rest of the League to do my jobs for me, all to keep you from doing something like _this!_ We both _could_ get people to do our work, but neither of us _should._ But I did anyways, because I was fucking worried about you!”

“Jesus _Christ,_ you act like you care about me, like you help everyone, like you’re _so much less selfish than me,_ but you won’t say a goddamn _word_ about what happened that night we shut the Wormholes. You should fucking look in a mirror. I don’t know what it is, but something’s fucking _changed,_ and you’re just an asshole now! You were different… My sister would never have trusted you if she’d known this is who you’d turn out to be! _I’d_ have never trusted you if I had any idea that this is who you are!”

Sun went stiff.

Slowly, he raised his head, looking into Gladion’s face. It was so red, so full of _rage,_ and tears were spilling from his eyes.

Yes. He was different.

Gladion was right - In the months following Lusamine’s defeat, he had developed a strange sort of constant passive-aggressiveness, that had gotten most intense in the last month or so.

He’d noticed it recently, but didn’t think it mattered much… After all, he almost never did it to Hau or Gladion, and they were the only two people he cared about at that point. Perhaps Gladion had just noticed it because he complained about other people much more often.

“Gladion, you’re right, I’m a little bit different, and I’m sorry. I wish I hadn’t changed, I wish I wasn’t so bitter, but I… Don’t know if there’s much I can do about it. You’re helping, though. Just, you know, being around you helps me be happier, and so that’s why I was so happy when you kissed me, but then I…” He stopped, unsure of where to take things next. Truth be told, he’d been scared to death of messing things up with Gladion, and as such had tried to keep a slight distance ever since his little mishap that night.

“Yeah, what’s up with that?!  All you want to do is _kiss me,_ but you don’t want to _say_ anything about what’s _going on here,_ it’s like you just want to use me for sex or something! I didn’t think that’s who you were, and I was willing to forgive you for what your reflexes made you do that night, but now I’m starting to think you did it on purpose because _that’s all you want from me.”_

Sun couldn’t really even form words. He took a few seconds to catch his breath, eyes welling up again. In an effort to do better, he’d gone and fucked things up even worse than he ever thought he could have.

“I’m sorry,” He whispered. “I was embarrassed. I didn’t say anything because I was embarrassed.”

“You used to be so… _Open_ to me about everything. Now, I feel like we’re just… Living two separate lives despite being together for like 70% of every week… And I don’t really want that.”

Sun blushed hotly. “So… Then, what _do_ you want?”

Gladion’s Adam’s apple bobbed by Sun’s head. “The opposite.”

“So… Separate lives for like 30% of every week,” Sun joked.

The President snorted. “No. Reverse the other part, idiot.”

“Oh, I knew what you meant. I just wanted to make you say it yourself, and I’m disappointed you didn’t…”

“I’m sorry,” He whispered, barely containing giggles. “I was embarrassed,” Said Gladion, in a voice that was on the edge of tears and significantly more high-pitched than his own.

Sun guffawed. “Shut _up,_ I didn’t say it like that.”

“Did too!”

“Did _not!”_

“Did too! But that’s okay, you know?”

“No, not really… I don’t know…” Sun stammered.

Gladion sighed. “I’m saying… If we’re gonna do… _This,_ whatever _this_ is… Then, like… It’s okay if you’re a little embarrassed about being forward with me or whatever. It’s okay if you don’t really know what you’re doing, because, _news flash,_ neither do it.”

“Oh, I never would have guessed,” Laughed Sun.

“Pff! I’m just going to… Go with my instincts and hopefully I won’t do something stupid that makes you hate or distrust me. Because… I really don’t wanna screw this up at all.”

“Me neither,” Agreed Sun.

“And, if you’re a little too shy to just jump into it and follow your instincts, or if your instincts are sending mixed messages, and you kind of freeze up every once in awhile... Then… It’s okay. I get it. And I promise I’m going to be better at understanding that from now on.”

“Okay,” Sun whispered. “Thanks. Um… What _are_ your instincts?”

“Well, long-term? Or short-term?”

“Both.”

“Hmm… Long-term, it’s that I will vow to spend every waking moment with you, and do my best to make you feel like I care about you.”

Sun peeled himself away from Gladion’s chest and looked into his eyes, grinning mischievously. “What about every sleeping moment? Not that I’d let you do much sleeping, of course…”

Gladion snorted and his face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Yeah. All of those moments, too.”

“And short-term?”

“Kiss the shit out of you,” He said, his lips curving up.

Sun laughed, pressing his face back into Gladion, this time higher so his skin was right against Gladion’s warm neck. “You’ve got me thinking… What _is… This?”_

The pair was silent for a moment.

“I don’t really know yet,” Said Gladion, shrugging. “I mean, I know what I _want_ it to be. I want it to be… Two people that care about each other, who spend a lot of time together, and who can trust each with anything. Who make each other laugh, and who go to exotic places together, and… Yeah. All that shit, haha… But… I don’t really know what to _call_ it yet…”

“And will there be a free exchange of sexual favors and shared activities?” Sun joked.

“Fuck’s sake, you sound like a goddamn _Seinfeld_ episode.”

Sun chuckled. “I know. It was on purpose. I just asked since _apparently,_ that’s all I care about,” He said.

“I’m sorry I said that…” Gladion whispered. “I didn’t mean it. You were embarrassed, and it was a natural reaction, and all… I mean, I was being hypocritical a the time. I’m the one who literally started kissing your neck. If you had let things progress more slowly, _I_ probably would have been the one who suddenly crossed a boundary and weirded you out.”

“Sorry,” Sun said. “I didn’t mean to move back to the argument, I was kidding. I’m… Already over it. You wouldn’t still be talking to me if you had meant it, I guess.”

Silence.

Sun felt incredibly vulnerable with how much he’d said already, but he somehow found the courage to press on. Perhaps because he was staring at Gladion’s neck and the President couldn’t see his eyes… “I like boyfriend,” He said, his voice soft.

“Huh?”

“Well, I wanna do all of those things, too. And you said you weren’t sure what you wanted to call it. I don’t need any weird pet names or anything. I don’t want to show you off in public as my… My _Schmoopsie_ or some weird ass shit like that. I just… I like boyfriend, if that’s okay with you. I like it a lot, actually. I just… I want to be able to say that to random people, you know? Only the ones I know won’t be weird about it, of course. But, like… Just… ‘Hey, this is my boyfriend,’ and, ‘Oh, that’s my boyfriend.’ And I want to tell you you’re the best boyfriend I could have, or whatever. It’s just a cute word I guess. It makes me think of other cute things, like you. It just makes me feel all dizzy and giggly when I say it.”

Exhaustion had overtaken Sun, and his voice was wispy and hushed. He was extremely tired, and being in Gladion’s lap with his head propped up by him was actually surprisingly comfortable.

Gladion sighed. “You’re adorable. Yeah, if that’s what you want to think of me as, then go ahead. I like it, too.”

Sun rested his chin on Gladion’s shoulder and whispered into his ear. “Thanks” He breathed. “Thanks for understanding that I get embarrassed easily and this is kind of… Difficult for me. The whole... ‘Being open about my emotions with someone like you that I want to impress and not be embarrassed in front of’ thing. You’re killing me, Gladion. There are some many things I’d like to say, but I… It’s really… Hard.”

Sun yelped and raised his body slightly. “And apparently it isn’t the only thing! Jesus Christ on a bike!”

Gladion turned purple. “Well, you were fuckin’ breathing in my ear, Sun! Don’t do that shit and be surprised when something _happens_ as a result!”

Sun flopped back down onto the tops of Gladion’s legs where he’d been, guffawing. _“Fucking hell,_ you’re easy to please. My god, way to interrupt the little moment we had going.”

“Sorry,” Gladion whispered.

“See?” Asked Sun. “That’s what I mean. Something happens, and you didn’t _mean_ for it to happen, but it seems to _suggest_ something about you, and so you’re embarrassed! Don’t you kind of feel like you don’t want to talk to me right now?! And you don’t want to talk about _this_ ever again?! That’s what it felt like for me! I didn’t… Know what to say, because I didn’t know… How you saw what had happened… And I couldn’t bring myself to mention it.”

Gladion sighed. “Yeah,” He said. “I get it.”

“Why the fuck were we fighting?” Asked Sun, moving slightly so his head was rested on Gladion’s lap and his body sprawled on the floor.

“I started it. You weren’t really fighting. Barely, if at all.”

“Still, I set up for the fight by ignoring you when you wanted to talk about what happened when I first started coming here on Saturdays. I still don’t know why the discussion went so bad so quickly, though…”

I don’t know. Probably because I was going to kill myself.”

Sun went white. “You _were?!”_

Gladion shrugged, looking down at him. “Not today. But who knows. I can’t tell you whether I would have in the future or not.”

“Do you think…” Sun trailed off, tracing patterns on Gladion’s back with his fingers. “Do you think that if I’m part of your life in… _This_ way it will help you? Because I really, really want to help you.”

Gladion’s head tipped slightly. “Maybe. I think so. Yeah, I think so…”

There was no sound for a few moments.

“I get it. I get how annoying that is. You _know_ what you’re doing, and you know you won’t make a mistake, or die, or whatever… And… You know you need it. But everybody just flips the fuck out when they see it, and assumes you’re suicidal, or whatever…”

Gladion stiffened. “You don’t cut, do you?” His voice was filled with concern.

“Nah, just… Bite my hands, sometimes. Everyone’s like ‘ _Oh no! Self-harm! He’s suicidal! Get him therapy!’_ Like, even _Hau_ reacted that way when he saw it. And, yeah, by _definition,_ it’s ‘self-harm,’ but… For one, there’s no bleeding involved, and, besides, I’ve got it… Under control. I’m not going to move on to stoves or knives, I’m fine, if it became a problem, I’d… Seek help. But with you, it’s different, because… If I bite only like once a month for an hour or two, that doesn’t really have any risk. But with you, there’s blood, and infection, and all this shit I’m all worried about now…”

“Yeah,” Said Gladion. “Plus, I sometimes… Hope I _do_ make a mistake.”

“That’s not good…”

“No,” He sighed. “No, it isn’t. But… That was more… Back when… Y’know, with Mother and everything. Now I’m.. _Better._ Especially now that I’ve got you. Other than Lillie, you’re the first person who seems to… Really care about me, and to _get it._ To _get_ that life is shitty sometimes, and sometimes it’s too hard to be happy so there’s no point in trying, and… Like, I feel like you and I can have depressing chats about existential nihilism and humanity's constant tendency towards violence and cruelty, and how pretty much all relationships are meaningless. I feel like you and I can talk about stuff that will make us cry and realize we’re are alone in our own heads, but at the same time make us feel… Like we’re alone _with_ someone. You would _get it._ And we would cry, and feel alone in this huge Universe that, unlike some say, isn’t watched over by any force that takes special care of everyone. The Universe doesn’t care we exist. But at the same time, we would never feel lonely because… I don’t know, I’m rambling. What the fuck am I even saying…?”

“You’re saying that both of us are smart enough and also depressed enough that we know the cruelties of the world and everything we see is seen through a grey-tinted lense sorrow. Both of us kind of hate humanity, but as long as we’re here we may as well hate it together.”

“Yeah.”

“Fuck, I’m expressing it poorly, too,” Sun sighed, which earned a laugh from Gladion. “But we know what we’re both saying, I think… We’re both… A little bit sad. And that’s okay.”

“Exactly.”

They stayed like that for a few minutes. Gladion’s heat radiated through Sun, and his eyelids became heavy and droopy. He fought hard to keep them open, not wanting to fall asleep and miss this perfect moment.

 

* * *

 

When he awoke, Gladion’s fingers were brushing his cheek, gently.

“You fell asleep, I think,” He said, smiling slightly.

Sun looked up into his perfect face. “I didn’t!” He said, embarrassment rising to his cheeks.

Gladion nodded. “You did. But that’s okay, as soon as I realized you were actually out I woke you up. You’ve only been gone for a minute or so.”

“But Gladion, I need my beauty rest!” He said, stretching his arms.

Gladion pushed air through his nose in a laugh of sorts. “You don’t need it. I think you’re beautiful no matter what,” He said, his voice quavering slightly. “Although, you’d probably be even more beautiful if you actually got some sleep for once. I just figured you’d sleep more comfortably in a bed… Plus, I need to go to bed, too, and I can’t when your head is on top of me…”

Sun snorted and held his hands out for Gladion to take. “I can’t get up…”

“Oh, for _fuck’s_ sake!” Exclaimed Gladion, laughing as he slid out from under Sun and pulled him up with him.

When Gladion was about to slide his hands away from Sun’s, the Champion grasped one of them firmly, only letting the other get away, and smiled at him. “Mind if we just walk back like this?” He asked, blushing hotly.

Gladion’s grin widened. “Not a bit,” He said.

They slowly made their way to the Mansion, hand-in-hand, and the whole thing just made Sun feel amazing. In that moment, it felt like he and Gladion were the only people on Earth. The night was cool, dark, and comfortable, and they made their way back to the Aether Mansion, with only the lights of the VLFS and the glows of their own hearts to guide them.

“It’s gonna get better,” Sun stated as they neared the house.

“I hope so…” Sighed Gladion.

“It will. Just give it time. Meanwhile, I… I’m gonna be scared to death if I ever see that again, so I…”

“I promise to do my best to not do it ever again,” Gladion stated.

Sun smiled. “Okay. Thank you.”

As they stepped inside, Sun decided he should make sure the Aether President went to bed. “Alright, are you going to bed…? Because you need sleep, too,” He whispered.

Gladion’s face turned pink. “You won’t know I’ve gone to bed unless you come upstairs…” He was smiling, quoting the same thing he’d said when their arrangement had first started.

This time, Sun wasn’t going to say the wrong thing.

“Well then,” He said, his face taking on a deep red glow as he grinned nervously. “I’ll just have to follow you up.”

Gladion looked extremely happy as he sped up the stairs with childlike glee and excitement in his step.

Sun followed, fear collecting in his gut. Perhaps that hadn’t been a good idea…

When he got upstairs, Gladion was shutting the door to a bathroom. “Give me a few minutes,” He called.

Sun sat on Gladion’s bed awkwardly. This was too much, too fast. Before he even had time to decide what his next moves would be, Gladion came out of the bathroom.

He stood by the door, eyeing Sun. “You know…” He began. “You won’t know I stayed in bed all night unless you stay here with me…”

The Champion swallowed nervously. “Okay, I’ll stay.” He wasn’t even sure he was doing the right thing, but it _felt_ right.

Gladion slowly ditched layers of clothing, obviously nervous to do so in front of Sun, until he was only wearing his underwear. He then climbed into his bed and turned on the TV. Sun had to look away - He didn’t want to torture himself...

“You can stay in my bed. I won’t make you sleep on the floor or anything.”

Well, that didn’t help Sun feel less embarrassed.

Sun must have zoned out, because soon Gladion was kicking his rear from under the bedsheets. “Yo. Earth to Sun. Hi.” Sun snapped out of his reverie and looked at him, cheeks ablaze. “You’re not focused at all, I’ve asked you, like, five questions. Is something wrong?”

Sun sighed. No use lying. “I’m fine, I’m just… This is a little… And I obviously haven’t…”

Gladion started guffawing loudly. “Oh my _fuck,_ I’m so sorry, I gave you the wrong idea.”

Sun smiled nervously. “Oh,” He said.

“Yeah. I didn’t mean we had to… _Urgh,_ if that’s what I was talking about, I wouldn’t be this confident. Just… I just wanted to… Sleep with you, in a totally literal sense of the phrase, no euphemisms or implications.”

“Well, that’s kind of a relief, actually.”

“Mhm. Well… Y’know, feel free to use a spare toothbrush from the bathroom, and then we can go to bed or stay up a little longer. I don’t really mind.”

“Hey, Gladion?”

“Yeah?”

“Even if we _don’t_ have sex, I, um… Can we still make out?” He finished nervously, his eyes refusing to look at Gladion.

“Fuck, yeah! I would never turn that down.”

Sun smiled. “So you won’t be weirded out or anything? It’s not too fast for you? You _sure?”_

“Sun,” Began Gladion, leaning towards him to press a quick kiss to his lips. “We’re two teenage boys who just confessed feelings for each other, and we’re sharing a bed. It’d be weirder if we _didn’t_ make out.”

They shared a laugh, and Sun went to go get ready for bed, before joining his boyfriend and pressing their warm bodies together.

The rest of the evening passed very pleasantly indeed.

 

* * *

 

 

_The Jellyfish danced slowly, gracefully, and they were undeniably beautiful._

_They were terrifying and absolutely monstrous, eerie and creepy, but Sun couldn’t deny that they were elegant, graceful, and captivatingly mysterious._

_The space around him was purple, glittering with stars that shimmered, that lured his eyes to them and trapped them there. They hurt to look at, and they blinded him - But he couldn’t look away. His body rebelled when he tried._

_So, as he was blind, he could only feel… Feel as the tentacles enveloped him, slithering across his body, slipping themselves inside his openings, filling his mouth so that his screams made no noise. They went down his throat and nose, stretching him out, and forced themselves to his stomach, playing in his own vomit._

_They began to suck on his head, forcing their squishy mouths around him, devouring him whole._

_In horror, Sun saw what was across from him, as one of the tentacles blocked the star he had fixated on and gave him the gift of sight._

_Gladion and Lillie, both suffering the same fate as him, both sobbing._

_Sun felt air rushing under his feet and looked below himself…_

_The Nihilego trilled happily, flailing their tentacles, as a woman’s voice rang out, singing in Italian… A large creature that made noise as it swam through the air ascended in the middle of the three humans, swirling its arms as it did so. It screamed, the purple hair within its head floating eerily as the woman’s head that it came from shot up. Her eyes shot open and they were as green as emeralds._

_She…_ **_It_ ** _laughed, and it was utterly disgusting._

_First, it had its way with Lillie, gesturing its arms to command the other Nihilego… And then, when she was erased, moved on to Gladion. They did as they were told, violating both Gladion and Lillie, and eventually eviscerating them by crushing them with their tentacles… They popped like balloons filled with blood._

_And then, agonizingly slowly, she turned to Sun, advancing towards him, tentacles flying gracefully. As the mouths close in on him, he realized just how beautiful she was, and resigned himself to his fate. He knew he had died a graceful death, and he felt honored._

_The word hit him like a knife through his head._

**_Mother._ **

 

* * *

 

 

Sun shot awake, snapping his upper body upwards so he was positioned in a 90 degree angle.

He was incredibly cold and could barely breathe. He was choking on air, his lungs filling and emptying with so much force that his chest hurt.

His heart was pounding, his head felt like it had been split open, and he was dizzy. His eyes were unfocused and blurry, and tears had collected under them.

“Sun?” Gladion said, his voice soft. “Are you okay?”

Sun shut his eyes, rubbing his temples.

“Yeah,” He said. “Yeah, I’m alright. Just a nightmare. I’ll be right back.”

He slowly made his way to the bathroom, being careful not to bump anything in the pitch black room. He didn’t turn the bathroom light on until the door was shut. He splashed water on his face, and drank some from the faucet.

He sighed deeply, fixing his hair in the mirror to sooth his nerves, and turning off the lights. He scrambled back into bed quickly, hoping Gladion would be able to fall back asleep soon.

“What was it about?” Asked Gladion, his voice full of concern.

Sun sighed. “Ultra Space... And the Beasts.”

“Oh…” His voice trailed off. “Was… Was _she_ there?”

Sun hesitated, not wanting to make Gladion feel awkward, but also not wanting to lie to him. “Yeah. She was. You and Lille were, too.”

“I’m sorry. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I… I will be, yeah. I just need to go back to sleep. It’s strange, though… I haven’t been having these dreams lately. I don’t know why it happened again.”

“That’s… Weird, yeah.”

They were silent for a moment. Gladion slowly moved towards Sun and pressed a quick peck on his lips, before turning the other way.

“Goodnight.”

Sun sighed. “Goodnight.”

 


	7. Winds of Adventure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading :D I hope you enjoyed it :3
> 
> ~Special thanks to MindfulWrath. I know they'll never read this, but... I had to credit them. They'd know why if they read this chapter.~

Sun woke up feeling happier than he had in months… And then he noticed that Gladion was gone.

He was a little scared that he had gotten cold feet and ditched him, but he tried to not think about it as he slowly got dressed.

When he went downstairs, Gladion was sitting at the table in the front room.

He smiled meekly. “Good morning,” He said.

“What’s wrong…?” Sun asked.

Gladion exhaled loudly. “It’s her. It’s _Mother._ She’s gone, apparently.”

“Gone?!”

He shook his head. “Lillie called me. _Gone._ She’s been taking care of her in Kanto, and things were looking bad for her… And then she just… _Vanished._ Fucked off somewhere.”

His eyes held a faraway look, and his voice was unreadable. There were no hints as to what he was feeling.

“God… I’m so sorry, but I don’t… I don’t know what to…”

Gladion smiled. “That’s okay. I know the feeling. You want to say whatever will make me feel better, but… I’m assuming you don’t have any idea what would help.”

“Nope… None.”

“It’s fine. I… I don’t know what to think, either. She was… _Awful._ She was utterly, completely _awful,_ but I don’t… She wasn’t always that way, and I…”

Sun moved towards him and hugged him tightly. “I know. It’s confusing; it’s a lot.”

Sun was quiet for a moment. He wanted to help, but he knew the only thing that would help Gladion would be having time to think things through.

Eventually, he spoke up. “Had she ever called you before?”

Gladion hesitated. “Um… A _few_ times. At the beginning, mostly. She just called me to say things like, ‘We got off the plane okay,’ or ‘Mother’s condition has stabilized.’ As the months came and went, though, we kind of… Stopped talking. I bet it was only five phone calls, max.”

Sun nodded. “Yeah, she only called me twice and texted me… I dunno, probably five times, yeah.”

The President nodded. “Yeah, she mentioned that. She apologized to me as sort of an indirect way to apologize to you, I guess…? She wasn’t phrasing things very clearly, I think she’s a little shell-shocked. But yeah, she said she wished she had called the two of us more. Apparently taking care of Mother is just taking all of her time.”

“Has she started the Kantonese League yet?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Damn, she wanted to really badly… Well… If they don’t find Lusamine, I guess… I guess that gives her time.”

“I guess so. You know what else she said? Apparently she hasn’t called or texted Hau _at all._ She said she felt awful. I told her I was sure he’d understand, but… I still can’t believe she did that. It’s not like her.”

Sun shook his head. “No,” He agreed. “Does, um… Does she - Did you tell her?”

Gladion chewed his lip. “No. I probably should have. You don’t think she’ll mind, do you?”

The Champion laughed. “Pff, _no._ She knew I liked you, anyway.”

Gladion’s shoulders tensed. “You - Even then, you…?”

“Yeah. I did, actually. _Shocking,_ I know.”

“I just wondered because… I mean, I know _you_ weren’t interested in her, I just never knew if…”

Sun nodded. “Right,” He said. “I know. She told me she saw me as sort of a brother, anyway.”

Gladion chuckled. “I guess I didn’t do a good job.”

“No, she just meant… Y’know, _also.”_

“I know, but I still shouldn’t have left her here when I ran away. She had to deal with Mother all by herself, and I - That was wrong.”

“We all make mistakes, and I’m sure she forgives you. I wouldn’t beat yourself up over it.”

Gladion sighed, dropping his head onto the table. “Damn it, I don’t know what to do… Lillie sounded like a mess over the phone, she’s probably even more confused than I am, after, you know… She seemed to come around for just a few seconds after you beat her in Ultra Space. She said she was beautiful, and all…”

“I think…” Gladion stopped to think for a second. “I think I need to go to Kanto and find her,” He said. “I can’t make her deal with this all alone, and I also can’t expect her to come home. She won’t just leave when we’re not even sure whether Mother’s dead or not.”

“I’m coming with you,” Sun said, his voice sharp. “You can’t go alone…”

“Sun, you can’t _come._ I don’t want you… _Involved_ in the aftermath of my Mother’s twisted shitshow. It’s… You literally _just_ had a nightmare about _her,_ I can’t make you…”

“You’re not making me. I’m making _you_ take me. I want to come, you seem very… Conflicted and stuff… And I want to be there for you.”

“What if we find her? What if she comes back?”

“If you can handle that, then I should be able to. She never… She tried to _kill_ me, yes, but she didn’t _abuse_ me. She wasn’t my _mother.”_

He sighed. “Fine… You can come, I guess. But I _was_ going to leave you in charge of Aether, and seeing as _that_ isn’t an option if you come with me…”

“Wicke?” Sun suggested.

The blond boy shook his head. “No. She is the _Branch Chief._ She’s too busy handling our… Domestic affairs. My job is _global,_ we need someone who can deal with the big-picture stuff regarding deals with other regions’ governments, and conservation of species that aren’t even in Alola, and speaking at global summits… Wicke can’t manage our local pies and our international pies, she simply doesn’t have enough fingers.”

Sun’s brows furrowed. “That’s a strange way to break up that analogy…”

Gladion shrugged. “Anyway, we can’t leave the Foundation without a President. Who knows how long we’ll be gone…?”

Sun thought for a moment - And when the answer finally come to him, bile pushed its way up to his throat, his blood ran cold, and his face went pale.

“Hau,” He said, slowly.

“How what?” Gladion asked.

“No,” Sun said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We have to leave Hau in charge.”

“Hmm… He’s not _qualified.”_

“No, no, he isn’t, but I wouldn’t have been very qualified, either. The thing about Hau is that he’s… I mean, Christ, he’s basically a puppy. He’d know we were trusting him with very high stakes, he’d _know_ to not fuck this up. He’d be so worried about disappointing us that he wouldn’t leave us a single mess when we got back. I haven’t spoken to him in… Fuck, _months,_ other than when I sent him a quick text this morning to tell him about us... So I kind of feel awful just _telling_ him he’s got to deal with this while we bugger off to another country.”

“How’d he react to _that?”_

Sun shrugged. “I dunno. He said he was super happy for me, but I think he feels like I’ve been a little shitty to him by not speaking to him at all. Which… I have, honestly. I took him for granted and I still feel like crap for that…”

“Don’t act like you’re an awful person, we were busy… I’m sure he’d understand.”

“We were busy _literally_ almost having sex. Like, honestly, I don’t know about you, but all I’ve been fucking focusing on for the last few months has been this weird ‘Will-they-or-won’t-they’ thing we had going. I feel bad that I was tied up in… Ahem, _extracurricular_ affairs while Hau was all lonely and training to be a Kahuna, which sounds boring as shit.”

Gladion cracked a smile. “So you call sex an extracurricular? That seems… Strange.”

“Euphemism, get used to it. I didn’t _literally_ mean extracurricular, you idiot.” Sun gasped. “Oh god damn it, it’s not even been a day and this is so domestic it hurts me inside!”

Gladion laughed loudly and then sobered. “Shit, this is… This is a big deal. We could be away for _months,_ and the only person you can think of is Hau?”

Sun stared at him. “Well, he isn’t a _great_ option, but ask yourself: Can you think of a better idea?”

Gladion chewed his lip and then shook his head. “No,” He said. “I can’t. Alright, here’s what we’ll do, then: We’ll leave Wicke in charge for just a week or so, _max,_ while we figure out what’s going on in Kanto. And then we’ll... “ He sighed. “If it comes to it, and we’re forced to stay in Kanto longer than that, then we’ll… Leave Hau in charge. And, if all goes according to plan, he’ll only be in charge for a month or so.”

“Will Wicke mind?” Asked Sun.

“No,” Gladion said. “I mean, I don’t think so. It’s only a week. She can handle it, I think.”

Sun nodded, and walked to Gladion’s side, putting his hands on his face and turning his head towards him. “Are you okay?”

Red fire bloomed under Sun’s fingers as he kneeled down to level with Gladion. “Yeah… Yeah, I’m okay. Thanks for asking.”

Sun smiled and leaned in towards Gladion. Gladion’s face reddened and he pushed his face forward to meet Sun’s.

Their lips met in a beautiful dance, and it was slow, sensual, and unbelievably filled with love. Gladion stood up, dragging Sun with him, placing his hands on his hips. Sun moved his own hands to Gladion’s shoulder and neck. Gladion guided him to the wall slowly, and then suddenly pushed him against it with force and hunger. Sun gave a surprised gasp that sounded more like a moan as his back hit the wall. As Sun’s lips parted, Gladion took the invitation to slip his tongue into his mouth. Sun gasped again, raising his own tongue to join Gladion’s in a paralyzingly wonderful tango that left him barely able to stand. Gladion gripped his biceps, and then later tangled his hands in his hair. He pressed his body against Sun. He moaned quietly, sliding his knee up between Sun’s legs so he was practically sitting on it. A tingling heat spread from the point of contact. Sun made a sound that he was almost ashamed of, but everything was so _perfect_ that he just decided to go with it.

They stayed like this for some time, but eventually broke away. They had both been taking hurried, gasping breaths between kisses, and hadn’t had a taste of _real_ air that was allowed to completely fill and empty from the lungs since they’d started. The pair were breathing like they had been underwater for several minutes and finally surfaced to inhale the precious, precious oxygen.

“I love you,” Gladion panted. “I couldn’t - _Do_ this without you. I couldn’t do _any_ of this without you. I’m so fucking glad you’re here, I can’t thank you enough for putting up with this shit…”

Sun blushed hotly. “I love you, too. I’m not leaving. I’m _never_ leaving you. I’m not ‘putting up’ with any shit, I’m… I’m here because I want to _be with you,_ more than anything else in the world.”

Gladion looked at the floor. “Th-Thanks,” He stammered.

Sun hugged him tightly, kissing his neck quickly.

“We’re gonna be okay,” He said, his head pressed into Gladion’s collarbone. “We’re gonna be okay…”

Gladion wrapped his arms around Sun. “Yeah… Yeah, if we stay together, I think we will.”

 

* * *

 

They had decided to fly to Kanto on Nebby’s back. Since Alola was close by and the Sunne Pokémon could travel astronomically faster than any airplane could, so it would only take four or five hours. There was plenty of room to sit and lay down on Nebby’s back, and Sun had hired a team to fashion a sort of cradle that the celestial Pokémon would wear like a saddle that allowed them have plenty of space and also not worry about falling off. He was surprised at just how many people wanted to be hired by the Champion to do something, no matter how ridiculous it was. They weren’t bringing anything more than one suitcase each - Even if they were going to stay with Lillie for a long time, they were going to come back to Alola after a week before they prepared to stay longer. They’d take a plane and much more luggage the next time. For now, though, all that mattered was getting to Lillie and helping her sort through the chaos that her life had become.

Gladion had told Lillie that he was coming and would be on Kantonese soil before the day was over, and that he was bringing a surprise to cheer her up. She had seemed excited and curious, which had made Sun happy when the President had told him.

“She’ll be really happy to see you,” He said as they packed and left Aether.

Sun nodded. “I hope,” He whispered.

They took each other’s hand, grabbed their suitcases, and walked out to the front of the VLFS.

The Champion let Nebby out of their ball, the great lion roaring contentedly. Sun and Gladion hopped on, and Sun explained to the cosmic feline what general direction Kanto was in. Lillie had told them she was in Saffron City, so Sun figured they’d just figure out which one was Saffron when they got there. He really liked the idea of just figuring it out when they got there… There was something romantic about it.

Sun had said goodbye to his mother, and she had… Not exactly taken things too well. She had begrudgingly let him go when he’d reminded her that he’d be back in only a week or two. He neglected to mention the fact that he was now literally sleeping with another boy with no adult supervision - What she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. She would have had a heart attack, and Sun certainly didn’t want that. Besides, the prerequisite information to explain _why_ he was doing that wasn’t even known by her yet.

He’d informed Kukui of the situation, and he’d agreed to fill his role as Champion until the boy returned. It was fair - He was a damn good battler. He felt a little bad about making him put his life on hold for it, but… There were more important things at stake.

The Champion had said quick goodbyes to the Kahunas and Trial Captains, but ended up skipping Hau. He felt utterly awful about it, but… He’d be back soon enough.

Gladion followed Sun onto Nebby’s back, opening the little gate to the giant cradle. They unrolled sleeping bags so they wouldn’t be laying on a wooden floor, set up a laptop with a movie they’d downloaded, and settled in for the ride. There were holes higher up in the walls where nothing could fall out, and they were almost like windows, so that the cool wind could come into the structure.

“Nebby, we’re ready, I think,” Sun said.

Gladion ran his hand through Sun’s hair lovingly. “Are you sure you want to come with me?”

Sun nodded proudly. “I want to be wherever you are. I love you and I care about you so much, and I’m coming with you. My decision is final. Wherever you go, I’m gonna follow you, I promise. Wherever the wind takes us, I’ll gladly go.” He said, laying down next to his boyfriend and hugging him tightly as he nestled his head in between Gladion’s head and chest, the blond boy’s chin resting on his hair.

Gladion kissed his head and squeezed his shoulders. “I’m so glad,” He said, and his voice was soft and beautiful, like gentle ocean waves.

As the cool wind caressed his face, Sun thought back to how much his life had changed in just under a year… He wasn’t sure if things were _better._ The bliss of childhood had faded from his life, things weren’t nearly as simple as they had been. Saving the world had been easy - But taming the beastly things called emotions? That was another story. Certain elements of his life that he had loved were gone now, and he couldn’t return to those carefree days. That stung… But the pain was offset by the realization that he was going to go see Lillie, who was practically his _sister,_ who he hadn’t seen in what felt like forever. Besides, Gladion was with him, and Sun couldn’t have been happier about that. Sun could feel that he was on the cusp of another fantastic adventure, and as long as Gladion was with him, he’d gladly go. 

 

Wherever the wind took them, Sun would gladly go, ever thankful that he’d finally found someone to understand and to be understood by.

 

_**THE END** _

...But the story will continue in  _Hurricane..._


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